REC 100 Days Prayer Meeting Day 97 - Amazing Grace! Changing you, changing me!

            

Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Sing a song to praise God (you are welcome to use "Father, I adore you" which I have been singing every morning for the past 20 years or your own choice to praise God)

          Father, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Jesus, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Spirit, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

      

Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

(Please click this link to see how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

    

    The link to today's Time with Abba passages:   http://api.pastoralcareschool.org/twa/

    Time with Abba passages: (Psalm 18:1-6, Exodus  7:25-9:35; Matthew 19:13-30; Proverbs 6:1-5)

    Today's key passage:

     I love you, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.

Psalm 18:1-6

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to him. 

   

     My Listening

    The topic I received from Jesus is: Amazing Grace! Changing you, changing me!

     The Holy Spirit challenged me in yesterday's blog whether I was still staying in Pharaoh's bitter situation, whether "let my people go" was what God commanded me to do as He commanded Pharaoh to do four thousand years ago! Do I belong to those people who captured some people deep down into their hearts because they hurt them.

    The Holy Spirit encouraged me today reminding me that God's amazing grace has been changing me and free me from those chains and to give me the method to keep in that freedom:

    1. Lord! I love you!

        Today's Psalm 18: 1-6 tells us why King David said "I love you, Lord!" Because David experienced various name of God:

        My strength, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my refuge, my shield, my salvation, my horn of my salvation, my stronghold...

     Wow! Have you experienced those Name of God in you life?

    2. No more fear

        Well, if you have experienced those Name of God then there should be no fear in you no matter what you will face, enemies attack, death ... Those things would never change the loving relationship with you and God!

    Psalm 18: 4-6

    I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

    and I have been saved from my enemies

The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.

   

3. The difference between Pharaoh and God's servants 

    a. Pharaoh experienced amazing grace, when crisis was over, he sinned again

    Exodus 9:34-35

     34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

    b. God's servants experienced amazing grace, when crisis was over, they learned how to listen and obey and be willing to bring God's people into His Promised Land, that is to be true Evangelists .

4. Only Jesus Christ can do it, not you 

    Those things above, you can't do it! Only Jesus! 

   Matthew 19:22-26

   22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

May the Lord touched your soul, change your heart of stone to be a heart of flesh and that you won't be in the image of Pharaoh but in the image of God! 

   May we pray for our church on the 97th  day of our 100 days Prayer Meeting now:

 

Dear Lord Jesus,

Help me not to have a callous heart, or like the Pharaoh whose heart was hard, unyielding and refused to let go of Your people. Lead me to have your own image and not Pharoh's image any more. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

      Reflect on these questions:

     1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch and what have you heard from Jesus now?

      

      2.  What is your next step to be more closer to Jesus?

    

      Family Corner:

     Find an opportunity to share with your family the importance of today's message. 

     

Please click this link for the video version of this blog: 

 https://youtu.be/txKSQzVjHtw  

    

     To know, learn and practice the method of Time with Abba, please click this link: https://www.pastoralcareschool.org