Please Keep Praying

Fever and a cough with congestion. Treating her for a respiratory infection. Praying it's not more.

Your Prayers Please

Taking our dog to the vet. She's coughing up blood. Hope it's not the cancer progressing.

My Inaugural Prayer

Father, today marks a pivotal moment in American history. In just a few short hours, a man will be sworn in as the forty-fourth President of the United States that is unlike any President before him. In many more ways than just race.

This man rocketed to the top of the political ladder through the Chicago political machine, Lord, and has had regular dealings with people of questionable character. He himself, according to many, is a man of questionable character. In fact, Lord, he is a man of questionable citizenship.

My prayer, Father, as we embark upon the next four years (at least, and hopefully no more) of the Obama era, is that I am completely wrong about this person. I pray that he is not the socialist that he appears to be; that he does not have the impact he has stated he would have on abortion; that he does not receive the chance to Robin Hood his way into the history books through his share-the-wealth schemes; that he does not turn tail and run from Iraq into Afghanistan, leaving behind an unstable fledgling democracy to fail.

I pray, Lord, that he is not the scheming charlatan that he has appeared to be to those who have not been blinded by his charisma. I pray that the reasons he refuses to present his birth certificate for public scrutiny are not because it wouldn't pass muster. I pray that the birth of the Obama era might not coincide with the death of the United States Constitution.

Lord, I pray that I'm wrong about this man, and that America won't struggle for decades after he leaves office to repair the damage he could so easily cause.

God bless America is so much more than a meaningless phrase right now, Father. It is a fervent prayer.

God, please bless America!

AMEN

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Joe

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His Love Never Fails

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
FOR TODAY'S FULL READING, CLICK THE TITLE LINK ABOVE.

SCRIPTURE:

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Philippians 4:6-7 [MSG]

OBSERVATION: When times get tough, turn to God.

APPLICATION:

It is not news that our nation -- the world, even -- is in the midst of tough economic times. My wife has been quite stressed lately about money, and the task of buying Christmas gifts for two toddlers surely doesn't help. I tried this morning to calm her concerns, reminding her that God has always provided for us, seeing us through tougher times than this.

Then God led me to the epiphany of His Word. Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. At a time when many are concerned about jobs, mortgages, even just making ends meet, the Father still reaches out to us through His Word to let us know that He is there to provide for us. Does God still speak to us in the 21st century? The timeliness of this passage is no coincidence.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Father, for directing me to Your Word, for reminding me that You are in control. Your love never fails, Lord.

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Joe

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"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

Luke 23:46 [NIV]

I put my faith and my wellbeing into the hands of God.

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Prayer

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

Today's SOAP is being pre-empted for the cause of prayer. Prayer for our nation. Prayer for the voters who will go to the polls today and cast their ballot for the next President of the United States. Prayer that we can save face as a country and not turn this election into a repeat of the 2000 fiasco. Prayer that we will vote smart and not emotionally. Prayer that we will all accept the outcome of this election, regardless of what it is, without rioting and violence. And prayer that the world will not look back on this day as the day that America began her great decline. 

Please, pray with me.

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God Answers Prayer

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: "This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!" John 16:23-24 [MSG]
  
• O: Jesus instructs us to pray to God in His (Jesus') name.
  
• A: Much of what I have read lately has been about prayer. If so much of the Bible is about prayer, how important it must be. Yet it seems to me that prayer is highly overlooked in daily life. As a boy, every family meal began with my dad asking God's blessing and giving thanks: prayer. As an adult, that practice has been mostly reserved for special occasions such as Easter, Christmas, and, of course, Thanksgiving. Prayer should be so much more a part of our lives than just something we do in church on Sunday or before a special meal. The day should be like a prayer sandwich. We should start the day with prayer, end the day with prayer, and pepper it with prayer in between. God listens, and God answers prayer, and life is so much better when we walk and talk with God. One of my employees told me a story this week of his son who found himself in legal trouble. This employee (I'll call him "Ted") was struggling with whether to bail his son out or let him learn a lesson. Ted had spoken several times to the victim trying to get him to drop the charges. Ted asked me what I would do, and I wasn't much help. So he told me the next day that he had prayed. "Lord, tell me what to do," he prayed. He felt the Lord moving him to speak with the victim once again. He did, and God answered: the charges have been dropped! God answers prayers prayed in the name of His Son.
  
• P: Father, Thank You for giving me this real life, current day example of answered prayer. Help me as I commit to give prayer a greater role in my life.
  

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Excuses or Blessings?

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: What you've been shown here is somewhat like a letter in a sealed envelope. If you give it to someone who can read and tell her, "Read this," she'll say, "I can't. The envelope is sealed." And if you give it to someone who can't read and tell him, "Read this," he'll say, "I can't read." Isaiah 29:11-12 [MSG]
  
• O: Excuses accomplish nothing.
  
• A: It seems that I get this from my own employees regularly. I ask them to do something and their first response is to tell me why they can't. Not to ask for further instruction. Not to ask for assistance. But to say that they just can't do it. And they are more often than not just lame excuses with no basis in reality. People who have received repeated training will try to tell me that they don't know how to do the simplest of tasks. Excuses. Not reasons. We can be like that with God. "I can't tithe because I have bills to pay." "I can't go to church because I have to work on Sunday." "I can't pray in front of a group because they'll laugh at me." All of them excuses, and God knows it. We are only fooling ourselves when we try these lame excuses. And what do we gain? A little extra fun money? A couple extra hours of sleep on Sunday? But at what cost? Since starting to tithe, I have seen God bless the 90% that I don't return to Him. I seem to have more money between paydays than in the past, and there is no earthly logical reason for it (especially with the cost of gasoline driving the price of everything up). Church has changed our lives -- you can see it in my entire family. The excuses cost you more than just doing what is right. And it's the same at work, as I've promoted newer employees because of their productivity while reducing the hours of tenured Associates. The excuses have cost them hours and money, while getting the job done has paid rewards to others.
  
• P: God, You've taught me a lesson that works both spiritually and professionally. By putting an end to the excuses and returning to You that which You have given me, I have been blessed. And by putting those same principles in place at work, I have seen Your blessings there, as well.
  

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Joe

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Revival

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Psalm 85:4-6 [NIV] Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Isaiah 64:1-3 [NIV]
  
• O: Revival comes only from God.
  
• A: What is revival? Simply put: when God shows up for church. Revival is when we begin to experience what we already believe Biblically and theologically. As the moral fiber of our nation continually decays, revival is our only hope. We cannot, however, do it ourselves. Only God can reverse the decline of society. But just as we cannot do it ourselves, God, in a sense, relies on us to start the ball rolling. All revival begins with prayer. It is our act of repentance and humility when we ask God for revival that moves Him to action. When we, the church, as hundreds of thousands -- even millions -- of individuals pray collectively asking God for revival, He answers, and delivers, as He has done throughout history. As He has done on at least three other occasions, only God can bring us to another Great Awakening, but we, too, play our part, through prayer.
  
• P: Lord, the time is now. Our nation -- our world -- needs You to come to church. Send upon us revival, one heart, one family, one church, one nation at a time. Awaken us, Lord.
  

Inspired by our visit to a new church.
Study Guide, and Outline available.

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Selecting Elected Officials

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Hosea 8:4 [MSG] They crown kings, but without asking me. They set up princes but don't let me in on it....
  
• O: God should be involved in the process of choosing our leaders.
  
• A: Election Day is less than four months away. We'll be choosing our next President -- the "leader of the free world." To what extent have we consulted with God on our vote? Have we gone to Him and asked Him for guidance? For enlightenment? Have we then listened for God's response? Have we truly given any consideration at all to which candidate most closely possesses the value God would want in our leader? Just two days ago I added to my prayer list "Future President of the U.S.," with the intention of praying that we select the best candidate for the job. Maybe it's time we stop listening to the campaign ads and start listening to God.
  
• P: Father, open my ears, open my heart, and open my mind. Then enlighten me. Help me to disregard my preconceived notions and listen to your guidance.
  

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Joe

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Religion Is Bad

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah 1:11-17 [MSG]
  
• O: Religion for the sake of religion is bad. To put on a show of being religious, having special gatherings for the sake of appearing religious, and giving prayer "performances" are all bad.
  
• A: It's so easy today with the popularity of mega-churches and -- despite the so-called separation of church and state -- with political candidates touting their faith, to become phony. It can be too easy to do, do, do what we want our fellow man to see so that they will think we are religious. In so doing, we forget what God asks of us. God sees our heart. God knows our faith. Short of using that faith to bring others to a relationship with God through Christ, our faith should be between us and God. Our prayers are heard louder when they come from the heart than when they come from our lips.
  
• P: Father, teach me to be more Christ-like and less religious; to use my faith for Your will and not my own; to shut my mouth and open my heart.
  

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Words

I turn to several sources every morning when doing my daily devotional. I don't just pick up a book, read, write down a few things, and call it done. I look through a devotional Bible and several online resources, first. Some mornings, even though I might find a passage that speaks to me, it's difficult to translate into my own words just what I feel the passage is saying. Some mornings, I guess, when a long day before, or the lack of sleep, or just the stress of day to day life, makes it just a little harder for me to focus on what I would say about what God is saying. This morning is feeling like one of those mornings.

When all else has failed me in my devotional, I pick up the Bible, close my eyes, and just flip open to a page, and read. Today I share with you what I read, and a brief prayer, and hope that it speaks quietly to you.

P: Lord, help me to find in Your Word the guidance and direction I need along my path each day. Help me to live as an example, and to find comfort in Your Word when challenge arises.

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The Greatest Good

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Genesis 3:1-7, Luke 24:28-35, John 19
  
• O: Life can be filled with eye-opening events.
  
• A: It can be too easy, at times, to doubt the goodness of God. How many times have you prayed to ask for God's help or guidance with something and didn't ever hear the answer? How many times have you found yourself in situations in life that were quite trying? Times when you felt that maybe you just couldn't go on, and you asked God for strength, and you didn't feel that He was hearing you? It is said that God answers prayer in three ways: yes, no, and wait. It can be very easy, at times like these, to feel that maybe God isn't as good as they say He is. God reveals Himself to us in ways of His own choosing, not necessarily the ways we might want Him to. He revealed Himself to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they might have least wanted to hear from Him: after eating of the fruit from the forbidden tree. He revealed Himself to His disciples when they expected it so little that they didn't even recognize Him: on the road after his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Have you ever considered that maybe the only answers you've heard are the yes answers because that's the only answers you want to hear? God reveals Himself to us in His own ways and in His own time. Such as he did on the cross in the form of His son, Jesus Christ. Which is the barometer by which we must measure God's goodness. Not how He answers this prayer or that. Not what is happening in your life today. But the fact that God loved you so much that He died on the cross for your sins. That, my friend, is the Greatest Good.
  
• P: Lord, help me to use my time with You in prayer not to ask for help in areas where I'm struggling, but to ask that You use your divine influence with elected leaders who are making the decisions that may change our lives on earth forever, and to to use Your divine influence with us as we go to the polls to choose who those next elected leaders will be. Help me use my time in prayer to ask that You shower others with blessings. Not that You help me to make ends meet, or land the next big promotion, etc. For I will receive Your blessings through seeing them come showering down on others.
  

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