Perseverance, July 20, 2008

Perseverance, July 20, 2008

My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation and Your righteous word.
Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!
Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way.
Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.
The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
I opened my mouth and panted, for I longed for Your commandments.
Look upon me and be merciful to me, as Your custom is toward those who love Your name.
Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.
Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.
Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law.
Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
Your testimonies, which You have commanded, are righteous and very faithful.
My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it.

Psalms 119:123-140, www.solascriptura.com

Father, Your Son came and was the Word and dwelt among us. It was Jesus, who when He was about to be crucified for our sins, who told us that when He went to be with You, that the Holy Spirit would be sent to us.

Father, this pivotal event makes us able to come to You in the righteousness of Christ. Your word teaches us that our righteousness is as filthy rags. We are able to approach you as a friend of Jesus, our Advocate, as disciples seeking to serve. Oh that our eyes would fail because we spent so much time in Your word.

Thanking you for the reality of Your Holy presence is much too trite a response. Breathe upon us afresh and empower us this day to be like You, Jesus. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

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Perseverance, June 25, 2008

Perseverance, June 25, 2008

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength; he will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills....

Habakkuk 3:17-19, www.solascriptura.com

Father, few of us are without adequate food and we are blessed with many things that are not essential to sustain life. Yet, we worry about our needs, sometimes too much. Help us O'God to trust you for all things, large and small. Take anxiety about such matters far from us and replace it with the joy and confidence in Your presence and Your provisions.

What we need Father is a greater and greater dependence on You. Our enduring treasure is in heaven, not on earth. Help us to use the assets that You give us in this life to better serve You, to run swiftly toward the goal and to walk with You on high hills, even when experiencing challenges in our day to day lives.

Thank you for Your constant presence, wisdom and sovereign control. We trust You Father! In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

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Perseverance, June 6, 2008

Perseverance, June 6, 2008

...you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
"When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. "It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
"Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
"Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.
"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
"Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matt 10:22-31, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, for these words of enlightenment, we are grateful. We do not want to be persecuted or disliked when we tell people we belong to You and have chosen to serve You.

We do not fear those who persecute us even if they were able to sentence us to physical death for loving You. No man can take us from Your eternal protection. Your presence is like a protective shield around us, encouraging us to persist in our love.

Father, we are overwhelmed to realize that You know when a hair falls from our head or a bird falls from the sky. Such omniscience and omnipresence exceed our understanding, but not our appreciation. O'God, if we could but acknowledge and respond to Your unending presence, how much smoother our day would go.

Give us the perseverance this day to witness of Your love and to endure whatever comes, knowing that some will be encouraged, not all. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

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Perseverance, May 16, 2008

Perseverance, May 16, 2008

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves;
'for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him';
"and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?
"I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
"If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
"Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

Luke 11:5-13, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, being taught by You personally is a privilege indeed. To whom else shall we turn? Jesus, these scriptures seem at first to tell us about an insensitive friend who was a neighbor. On closer examination, that part may be true, but Your lesson leads us to understand that perseverance in prayer is encouraged if not always rewarded.

Why Jesus, isn't every prayer answered as asked? Your response seems obvious, given the entirety of Your Word. You have taught us that we must pray in a Spiritual way and seek results that are consistent with Your perfect will.

Jesus, it seems that a prayer not responded to is a prayer that is "on hold", either for a "not now" answer or "no, that is not My will for you at this time." Yet Jesus, you say "ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." What is it that is promised? Thank You for the answer: "how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" It is Your Holy Spirit in us that is promised if we but ask. We seek to be led by You and serve You. Thank You Father for the reality of Your leading Spirit. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

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Perseverance, April 24, 2008

Perseverance, April 24, 2008

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
"Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'
"And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"
Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
"And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
"I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Luke 18:1-9, www.solascriptura.com

Jesus, Again, You tell us to persevere and show us that even the unbelieving judge yielded to the continual pleas of the widow. Then Jesus, You teach us that if an unbelieving judge can be influenced by persistence, we can depend upon our God to listen to our cry day and night. We see that we can not despise others and say we trust in You. Our trust is in Your righteousness, not ours.

Jesus, You are the judge of all mankind and You ask the question, "Will You really find faith on earth?" Thank You for teaching us that positive responses are reserved for those who diligently seek You. Help us Jesus to persistently seek the will of the Father, every moment of the day. We are only able to do so because we approach our Father, wrapped in Your righteousness. We know He will not hear us if we persist in sin and then expect blessings. We pray for discernment. In Your Holy name, lead us we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Perseverance, April 1, 2008

Perseverance, April 1, 2008

...be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
You ... must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops.
Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,
for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.
Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
This is a faithful saying: for if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.
If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, he also will deny us.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful; he cannot deny Himself.
Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Tim 2:1-15, www.solascriptura.com

Father, the words Paul wrote to Timothy ring true to each of us as modern day disciples. Our prayer Father is that we understand these verses and take them to heart. Help us to rightly divide the word of truth and to never tire of pursuing a relationship with You.

In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Perseverance, March 17, 2008

Perseverance, March 17, 2008

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,

Hebrews 6:4-11, www.solascriptura.com

Father, we confess our dependence on You. You have taught us that to know You and then desert You is a grave error. Those who do so are like the thorns and briars that will be destroyed in the end. But we who love You and all the works we do in Your name will not be forgotten. We know that our works, in and of themselves, merit us nothing. Our works only count if they are truly a labor of love to You and to those created in Your image.

Help us to "finish well", to show the same diligence towards You, every day until the end. Help us O'God to be as the cultivated herb, bearing fruit worthy of our calling. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Perseverance, March 6, 2008

Perseverance, March 6, 2008

I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word.
My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word.
Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice.
They draw near who follow after wickedness; they are far from Your law.
You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth.
Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever.
Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law.
Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Great are Your tender mercies, O LORD; revive me according to Your judgments.
Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.
I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word.
Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.
The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your word.
I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.
I hate and abhor lying, but I love Your law.
Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.

Psalms 119:147-164, www.solascriptura.com

Father, in this busy life of ours, we find that our will to spend time with You is preempted by the affairs of life. We are stretched too far and we are doing important things, some time, but Father, we know that failing to look to You, to notice Your love for us, to thank You for all that You have provided, is a mistake.

Help us to find time, every day, to focus on Your presence and Your Holy word. May we never stand before You and say we were too busy to talk to You, acknowledge You and seek to know You better. In Christ's enabling power, guide us to the foot of the Cross that we might worship You in Spirit and in truth. Amen

Bruce Caldwell

Perseverance, March 4, 2008

Perseverance, March 4, 2008

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Tim 4:1-5, www.solascriptura.com

Father, witnessing, preaching the word, and living in such a way that we give off the aroma of one saved by the grace of God, is what You have said You expect. These commandments require that we know the word.

Father, this scripture says the time will come when people will seek out teachers who tell them what they want to hear. O' God, how we pray that You will teach Your teachers; that You will convict them and lead them to preach the whole truth, in season and out of season, when it is easy and when it is difficult.

Help us O'God to be seekers of the truth and to overcome evil in our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. Lead us this day in paths of righteousness for Your name's sake. Amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Perseverance #14

...Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.
Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; he shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

Job 2:10, Psalms 32:8-9, 55:22, www.solascriptura.com

Father, not every day seems to “go right” but we know that you allow us to be tested. Help us not to resist the testing as something negative, but to see it as a chance to depend upon You.

We do bring our worries to You and we know that You lighten our load when we do so. Thank you for the promise that the righteous, in the Lord, shall never be moved. Because of our dependence upon You, Eternity is ours! In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell