Have you heard this prayer? “Dear Lord, please give me patience, and give it to me right now.”

Psalm 37:4 Says, “Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires.” however, the Psalm goes on in verse 7 to say “Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act. Don’t be envious of evil men who prosper.” TLB

It is important to trust God’s timing and “rest” or stay in peace patiently while we wait for Him.

Dear Lord, Help us wait patiently for the things for which we desire and pray. Help us trust your timing knowing that you care for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we say “forgive us our sins…” It is an important part about praying for God to help us that we confess and ask for forgiveness.

In the Old testament, Isaiah the prophet said to the Jews in Isaiah 59:1,2 “The Lord isn’t too weak to save you. And he isn’t getting deaf! He can hear you when you call! But the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of sin he has turned his face away from you and will not listen anymore.” and in verse 9 he tells them, ” It is because of all this evil that you aren’t finding God’s blessings” TLB

He then prophecies about Jesus coming in verse 20, “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins”

So Jesus is the Redeemer of us for those sins that have cut us off from God’s blessings. When we pray, let us make sure to confess and turn from our sins like Isaiah describes, so we can receive God’s blessings.

Dear Lord, we are sorry for our disobedience to you, forgive us so that we may receive your blessings, most of all the blessing of salvation through Jesus our Redeemer. In His name we pray. Amen.

I think I heard this from an elementary school teacher in the past, you may also have heard this said “God gave you two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion?”

James says in James 1:9, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”

This is particularly true in witnessing. People tend to be most open to letting the Holy Spirit in, when they are troubled by some difficulty, tragedy, or fear. Simply listening to people and asking whether they know that God is there with hope and comfort, may be what they need at the difficult time. Psalm 86:5 says, “for you Lord are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.”

Also, when speaking with someone is opposed to Christianity, just asking simple questions, like Do you wonder where everything came from? or Do you wonder why we have a conscience? Then listen to their answers. This may allow them to open up their heart to the Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord, help us take Paul’s guidance and listen to others so that we might understand them and share your love with them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have always been interested in the evidence assembled supporting what we believe as the bible creation story, and the conflicting stories we read about evolution, and the earth being millions or billions of years old. In order to explore this more, I recently read a book called Creation and Evolution; Compatible or in Conflict, by Jay Seegert. This book is a well researched and easy to read assembly of the information and perspectives on this subject. I found it very helpful in cutting through the headlines and hype, and understanding the evidence. (Click on the Title to see more information or get a copy.)

The conclusion I took from the book is that as Christians, we believe the bible story of creation, because we believe the bible is the inspired word of God. Our belief is supported more and more by archaeological and astronomical discoveries. Evolution, the Big Bang Theory, and other non biblical explanations for the origin of the universe, earth, and the origin of life are as much a religious belief as Christianity. The people who promote these theories start with the assumption that God cannot be part of the origin, so they must come up with some other guess then try to identify data that support their guess. Our growing understanding of the complexity of life and the universe make it more and more difficult for them to rule out the Creator.

Arguments against God and Creation have been ongoing since bible times, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:19, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.” and in Romans 1:20 he writes, ” Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day” TLB

If you have interest in knowing more, I would recommend the book.

Dear Lord, We thank you for people who will take the time and effort to help us understand the evidence that exists to support our belief in the validity of the bible. Please send your Spirit to those who question your word in the bible, and let them know You and know that the bible is your word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Paul writes in Hebrews 11:1, “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” TLB

There is a scene in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where Indiana Jones is standing on the edge of a gorge. He ,is looking at a diagram in an ancient book that indicates a bridge should be there, but there is no bridge. After studying the ancient document, he believes he has it figured out, that the only way to find the bridge is to step into the abyss, and the bridge will appear. Without seeing, he must act.

In the sames way, Jesus’ teachings in the bible are our ancient map, and in order to see the support God promises us is to step forward in faith.

Dear Lord, it is very difficult for us to take that first step of faith that we know you want us to take, whether, volunteering in our church, inviting a friend to worship, witnessing to someone in need, or putting our tithe in the offering plate, we all have a step we could be taking. Give us the courage to take the step and experience the joy of trusting you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.