Praying this finds you well and enjoying your summer. It has surely been a hot summer with record setting drought throughout our country. A drought in the natural results when there is not enough rain. Without sufficient water the ground dries and hardens. This hardening prevents the continued growth of what was previously planted. It also cancels the possibility of new growth.
Let Your Heart Flourish
Just as a drought can take place in nature, it can also happen within our own heart (and it is always a heart issue). Think about it. If we do not stay in close relationship with the Lord through His Word our heart will harden to His ways. We know that by studying and meditating on the Word of God that same Word will be planted deep within our spirit. The Word will become an intricate part of who we are in Him. The Word will come alive to those around us when we live the Word through our words and actions.
The Drought of Legalism
Without taking the time to read and really think about what we are reading we will walk through our life without the counsel and peace of the Word of God. I am not talking about memorizing verses and spitting them out of context when they seem to fit a situation. If our awareness of the Word of God stays at the intellectual level it never reaches our heart. We remain unchanged in our worldly nature. We continually show that worldly nature to all around us who may themselves be in desperate need of a Savior.
A very real danger of remaining in our worldly self can result in using Scripture to chastise another. Clearly this is not the way of the Lord. At best it is legalism. At its worst it is certainly not backed by the power of the Holy Spirit but by another spirit altogether. In 2 Timothy 2:24-25, we read about being a gentle servant: “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility…so that they may know the truth.” Read that over a few times and walk in it.
The Truth Shall Set You
Free
To be a fruitful servant of the Lord, first we must know His truth. The more time we devote to reading the Word of God, the more we open ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in our life. As each day brings new challenges in the natural, each day can bring new insights through the Word of God. This discernment will equip us in season. We can read the same verse one hundred times and if we are open to His Spirit He will grace us with new insight each time.
We are told in the Word to seek wise counsel. The very best counsel begins in the Scripture. All flows from there. To walk in that counsel we have to do our part and commit to set aside time to read the Word of God ourselves. As we grow in His Word we also grow in His ways. Our heart softens. What seeds we have planted in our life are nourished and grow. New seeds are planted and spread from the watered ground of our heart. Good fruit abounds to those around us.
Let Him Fill Your Heart with
Living Water
Jesus clearly tells us: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) To truly believe in Him and all that He is we must know the Scripture. If we open a space in our life to diligently learn His Word our heart will overflow with living water to all around us. There will be no drought. There will be no parched, dry issues in our heart. There will only be life in abundance as He promised His followers.
‘Pray the States’
Join us this week as we ‘pray the states’ toward the 2012 Presidential election. We are praying for each state in the order of admission to the Union. Please cover Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 in prayer. Pray for wisdom and discernment for the political leaders, pastors and church leaders, the people residing in Iowa and for all in our Nation. Each state is important in forming our United States of America. We commit to pray for a different state each week so we not only provide prayer cover but also to make us aware that our country is bigger than the space we personally occupy in it. These are our United States. Let us pray that we will arise united ‘for such a time as this!’
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“America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.” President Woodrow Wilson,“The Bible and Progress” address, 1911. Excerpt from In God We Still Trust, a 365-Day Devotional by Dr. Richard G. Lee.
A Prayer Request and
Personal Blessing
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our frontline on the battlefield, let us be their frontline in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. God bless all our military personnel and their families. May God richly bless the United States of America and keep her safe.
May God richly bless each of you this week. I pray that we each will purpose to put the Word of God at the top of our daily priority list that we may access His living water in Jesus’s name. May we continue to pray without ceasing for all in Colorado, their families and friends. Amen and amen!
