This is My Prayer

Psalm 86:8-13

(Two for the price of one.)

 

 

David prayed this prayer in the midst of his trials of everyday life. Following his example, here is my prayer.

 

⁸ Where among the heathen gods is there a god like you? Where are their miracles?   

Heavenly Father, there are no gods like you. None can come close. Not Baal nor Ashtoreth nor any of the ancient gods that David had in mind. Not even the gods that I create today. Not the god of financial security, or the god of being loved and accepted by others; not the god of winning; not the god of religious works.

 

¹⁰ For you are great and do great miracles. You alone are God.

Only you are God. None of the gods that I create come close. They might fill a temporary need. They might make me feel good for a short period of time. But you’re

the only true God; the only Living God.

 

 ¹¹ Tell me where you want me to go and I will go there. May every fiber of my being unite in reverence to your name.

Speak to my heart Lord. Not just to my mind, but to my heart. Help me to be open to your Word; to your will; to your direction in my life; to your plan.

 

I want every fiber in my body, in my being to desire you Lord, and you alone. I want every fiber of my being to desire your will in my life. I want every fiber of my being to cleave to you alone oh Lord. To hold, to abide, to be loyal and to be faithful to you and you alone Lord.

 

 ¹² With all my heart I will praise you. I will give glory to your name forever…

Lord, I want to give you all the praise and glory for anything good that has happened to me in my life. For my wife; for my daughter; for my job; for touching people’s lives. I want to say thank you Lord.

 

^13 …for you love me so much! You are constantly so kind! You have rescued me from deepest hell. TLB

And thank you Lord too for loving me so much; more than I deserve; more than I can

comprehend. Thank you Lord that you find something worthwhile in me that you died for my sins; that you brought me from the depths of Hell to be in your presence; to be held in your arms. Thank you Lord.

 

Amen.

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link with others.)

http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

The Cubs Win it All!

 

1 John 2:15-17

 

For the first time in 108 years, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series! The hero of the final game for the Cubs was Ben Zobrist. In the top of the 10^th inning, he hit a double driving in the go ahead run. In fact, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the whole series. But winning the World Series and being named the MVP is not what is most important to him.

 

"I think that we are all placed wherever we are to share the Gospel and the good news. And the good news is that we can all be saved from our sins. I am grateful to be able to bring that to the game and to my teammates, and to anyone I come in contact with. God's given me a great platform to be able to share that and I will do that as long as God's given me the breath to do it." (Taken from an interview with Tom Rust on Face to Face at www.facetofaceradio.com)

 

Here’s a man who on the surface has everything that the world has to offer. Fame, fortune and power; anything he desires he can have. Most of us will never experience anything close to this, but we still feel the pull of the world. In fact, John’s words strike

a little too close to home for us.

 

^15-17 Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. A person cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. For the whole world-system, based as it is on human primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself. The world and all its passionate desires will one day disappear. But the person who is following God’s will is part of the permanent and cannot die.               J.B. Phillips translation

 

For 108 years, the Cubs chased after another World Series. Isn’t that what the world-system is based on; “human primitive desires, greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid”?

 

Don’t get me wrong. I love sports and cheer for my teams; and I strive after things of

this world, but that’s just the point. We struggle every day to give our hearts to our Father; to love Him and not the world; and to follow His will.

 

Every day we face decisions that will reflect our love for Him… or not. Every day we struggle with the temptations of the world. Every day we fight the good fight so that in the end God will say to us, “Well done my good and faithful servant”.

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this devotional, please feel free to share it with others.)

 www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com