Five Things to Pray For…Day Three!

Last night my husband and I went to the races. It was definitely not as big as the races in the picture, being that we live in Idaho 😛 (but it was just as fun!). As we watched the cars go around and around, trying everything they could to get into first place, I couldn’t help but think of the race that Paul talks about.

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul writes “24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

How true is that! I don’t know much about race car driving but I’m pretty sure they need to constantly change their tires and brakes, and check to make sure their car is running good. They must go into “strict training” and practice their driving skills.

We should be doing the same; constantly checking ourselves to make sure we’re ready to continue the race towards eternal life in Heaven. We need to be checking our faith, our attitude, and our actions. We need to go into strict spiritual training as we put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-20). As Paul says, only one gets the crown, and don’t you wanna be the one to receive that heavenly crown? I know I do! How awesome it would be to have my Father place a crown my head and say “enter good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

Of course it isn’t literal that only one person will make it to Heaven, but we mustn’t slow down and wander aimlessly, but keep our eyes towards the goal.

So tonight I pray for perseverance; I pray against apathy and wandering; I pray for my Christian brothers and sisters to finish the race strong so they can inherit the kingdom of God. God bless you my sisters in Christ!

Praise Him Always,

Justine

Five Things to Pray For…Day Two!

Forgiveness. It is something we have all had to look in the face, even when we don’t want to. The song “Forgiveness” by Matthew West is such a perfect example of this-the song was inspired by a mother who forgave a drunk driver for killing her daughter! Wow! just think about that. Would you be able to do the same?

I don’t know if I could. The only way that would be possible for me is with the strength of Jesus Christ.

Wanna know how important it is to forgive others? In Matthew 6: 14 & 15 Jesus is giving a sermon on a mountain in front of a large number of people. He tells the crowd, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Oh my goodness! I encourage you to read that verse over a few times and let it sink in. Now, I don’t know about you, but whenever I read Jesus’ words I pay just a little more attention. Of course I believe the bible is all true and given by the Holy Spirit, but Jesus is God, and I wanna make sure I know exactly what He’s talking about!

Jesus doesn’t say to only forgive people’s small sins. No, we must forgive them if they kill our husbands, take our homes, kidnap our children-whatever the case is. That is so difficult and just thinking about it my flesh is telling me oh no, they don’t deserve forgiveness if they do something that bad! As I mentioned before, the only way I think it is possible to forgive someone who hurt you so incredibly bad is with the strength of Jesus. And don’t we want to be forgiven of our sins? Because Jesus says clear as day that if we don’t forgive them, He won’t forgive us.

As i reflect on those verses more and more, I am reminded that Jesus forgave me of ALL my sins. The day I gave my life to Him, every wrong I did was forgiven-both big and small things. Every single thing. And every day He forgives me for every single sin I make, as long as I repent. Now, I didn’t deserve, and sometimes still don’t deserve to be forgiven. So isn’t it only right to forgive others as He forgave us (Ephesians 4:32)?

Even as hard as it is sometimes, yes, we need to forgive. Sometimes it can take months, or even years to fully forgive someone for the pain they caused. But I pray now that the Lord will give every single woman the strength to forgive and surrender it to Jesus! I don’t want anyone to hold onto bitterness in their hearts, so if you know you need to forgive someone, take at least a few minutes to just bring it before the Lord and ask for His strength. I promise you it will feel like chains are breaking; you can be set free from the bondage of bitterness. So I’ll leave you with that so you can pray; I’ll be doing the same! God bless you my sisters in Christ and may He be with you always.

Praise Him Always,

Justine