Known & Salvation ...Week 3

...so that your ways may be knownon earth, your salvation among all nations. -Psalm 67:2

Wow...Week 3!  It's already here, and I do not know about your journey, but I must admit it has not been easy.  In fact, does it feel like everyday there is a challenge?  Sometimes, the challenge is small and sometimes it is large.  Well, welcome to Lent!  Remember, we are making an intentional effort to draw closer to God.  In order to draw closer to God, the relationship is often tested.  Without testing, we cannot reveal what we really know. So, get excited...week three is the time to show what we know!

Psalm 67 begins:  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us...

This first verse gave us something to look forward to: blessings and shining! Verse 1 is motivation.  We all need a little motivation every now and then.  However, verse 1 is not the complete thought.  Verse 2 gives us the "why":

so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

 

Say it with me: It's not about us.  It's about Jesus!  

I absolutely loved that song, and I believe it is fitting for week 3 of our Lenten journey together.  God has indeed promised to give us blessings and shine; however, God is not doing for us to boast on ourselves or gain notoriety during the Lenten season.  God has a specific goal in mind:  to be known on earth and for God's salvation to be among all nations.

During week 3, we must take ourselves and our selfish ambition out of the picture.  We are not participating in this Lenten season for people to recognize us.  We want people to come to recognize Jesus in us.  As others see Jesus in us, they will come to know Jesus for themselves.  This is really what Lent is about in the first place-Jesus preparing to reveal himself to the world.

So, come on!  Take the challenge with me to be better every single day as we progress through this season.  Each and every day attempt to inspire someone else on their walk with Christ.  As each of us seek to be an inspiration, someone will also inspire us.  Then, we will in fact fulfill the Psalmist's desire to make God's ways known and God's salvation desired among all the earth.

CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:

What harvest am I expecting from God?
Why am I afraid to wait?
Why am I afraid of God's blessings?
What is keeping me from receiving, fully, his grace?

How can I help to make God known through what I do?
 

CONSECRATION PRAYER:

Gracious God, thank you for allowing us to be intentional in our seeking you during this season of Lent.  As we do so, help us to truly pick up behaviors and language that will aid in others coming to know you for themselves.  We thank you for the promise of blessings and shining.  Please keep us focused on the purpose behind it all so that we will fulfill your desire through our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Blessings & Shining ...Week 2

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.  -Psalm 67:1

Here we are already at the second week of our Lenten experience, and many of us have been challenged every step of the way.  Perhaps, the fasting has not gone as smoothly as you have hoped or LIFE HAPPENED!  You know? Work stuff. Family stuff. Church stuff. Body stuff.  I know you don't want to hear it, but I must say it anyway: GOOD!  It's LENT!  The entire premise of this season is for you and I to grow closer to God.  In order to grow closer to God, we must experience circumstances that challenge the relationship.  It is in the survival of those circumstances that we have the realization of harvest & manifestation.  Remember from week one:

You cannot bless yourself better than God blesses you!  So, wait!  Trust God.  Over these next 40 days, let us consecrate ourselves with expectation of a great harvest...a great manifestation!

Psalm 67 will guide us throughout this Lenten journey.  So, let's take it from the top:  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.

This is the driving force for week two.  It's a request of God for US!  Remember, this Lenten journey is indeed about your relationship with God... your closeness with God... your spiritual growth.  However, WE are in this thing together!  Therefore, as we seek harvest and manifestation, we begin by acknowledging that we don't deserve it. Whew!  That's a relief!!! If God providing a harvest and manifestation was dependent upon what you and I get right and deserve, then this Lenten season may stop shy of Easter joy!  However, it is depending completely on God being gracious.  As God is gracious, the Psalmist requests two things:  blessings and shining!

I challenge us to focus on the blessings of God and the way God makes his face shine on us instead of looking for human approval and presence.  God's blessings will outlast the applauds and the putdowns.  God's blessings will outlast the fear and the courage.  God's blessings will outlast the very thing that has you weighed down in this Lenten season-whether a tough decision or a lifelong desire.  God will be gracious to us!  God will bless us!  God will make his face shine on us!

So, go ahead and expect it on your way to harvest and manifestation: blessings and shining!  Let God brag on God through his blessings in your life.

CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:

What harvest am I expecting from God?
Why am I afraid to wait?
Why am I afraid of God's blessings?
What is keeping me from receiving, fully, his grace?

 
CONSECRATION PRAYER:

Most Holy God, we thank you for the opportunity to walk with Jesus before the cross.  This week, help us to trust the promise that you are gracious.  Because You are gracious, help us to be more aware of your blessings and the way you make your face shine on us.  God, we know that we are not worthy, but we ask that you cast out the fears of receiving your blessings so that we can receive fully your grace in our lives.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Harvest & Manifestation ...Week 1

The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.  -Psalm 67:6 

I truly believe that 2018 is the year of GREAT Things!  Under this conviction, God continues to promise manifestation.  But what does it really mean to declare that we will experience manifestation as a result of our Lenten journey?

Manifestation is different from expectation.  Manifestation is expectation realized.  Manifestation is G.R.E.A.T. (Gain Real Experiences And Testimonies)!  In other words, God intends to allow us to actually experience God's promises to and for our lives.  God intends to give us opportunities to share our testimonies about circumstances and realities that were once possibilities and dreams.

This year's Lenten season and devotional focus is designed especially for believers who have been earnestly seeking God and wondering if the answers/visions/goals/dreams/promises will actually come to pass in the here and now!  The answer is YES!  Psalm 67:6 affirms this: The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.

A harvest is manifestation created from that which was once just a seed.  The smallest seeds often create the greatest harvest!  So, why underestimate the harvest of the Lord.  "God, our God, blesses us"!  You cannot bless yourself better than God blesses you!  So, wait!  Trust God.  Over these next 40 days, let us consecrate ourselves with expectation of a great harvest...a great manifestation!

CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:

What harvest am I expecting from God?
Why am I afraid to wait?

CONSECRATION PRAYER:

Most Holy God, we thank you for the opportunity to walk with Jesus before the cross.  We recognize that we need preparation for the glory that You will reveal in our lives.  Help us to daily seek you over the first 7 days of this Lenten season.  Help us to hear you as you reveal the promise of manifestation and a great harvest. Help us to trust you while we wait.  In Jesus' name, Amen.