Tag Archives: O God

Earnestly Seek You

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The Prayer Filled Life - Day 90 - Matthew 18-19-20 - Gathered In My Name - Growing As Disciples

The Prayer Filled Life – Day 90 – Matthew 18-19-20 – Gathered In My Name – Growing As Disciples

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.  Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:1-4 (NIV)

Seek You

I will seek you with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. I will seek you with all that is within me. I will seek you in the morning, I will seek you in the noon time. I will seek you in the evening. I will seek you all day long. Why is it that you so passionately and persistently and consistently want to seek me? You have placed this desire within me. This desire that is within me has been given to me as a gift. There could be no greater gift than to have a heart that seeks you. I could not have dreamed up this desire. I could not have created this desire within me. Yet here it is. The thirst I have for you is like a thirsty person crawling across a sun scorched desert floor in search of water. I can’t get enough of you. I want to know you. I want to love you. I want to follow and serve you. I want to live my life with and for you. And not just a little bit either. My desire for you is all consuming. There is no place I would rather be than in your presence. There is nothing I would rather do than be with you. I will follow you to where you lead me. I will do whatever you ask of me. If I have overstated my passionate desire for you or my willingness to do whatever you ask of me; then I ask that you will make what I have said to be absolutely true. Help me to know you intimately. Help me to walk with you closely. Do you believe that I will hear and answer your prayer? Will I do for you what you ask of me? Yes, I do believe. Why would you not start what you have begun? You have made me this way. You have placed these desires within me. Surely, you will complete this good work that you have begun in me. There is no doubt within me that if I seek you with all my heart, I will find you. You will show yourself to me. You will allow me to know you intimately. Yes, I will hear and answer this prayer of yours. For all of this, I give you all honor and praise and glory. I will lift up my hands to you as I bow down to worship you. You are my God and Father. Yes, I am. I am your child. Yes, you are. Thank you, Heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father, you are my God. Yes, I will earnestly seek you with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. I will seek you with all that is within me. Because your love is better than life, praise and glory to you will be on my lips as I raise my hands to worship you. Amen

Key Question…  How have you been seeking God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength?

Living It Out…  Make it your daily pattern and practice to seek God with all your heart.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that you will find God as you seek Him with all your heart.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are earnestly seeking God with all your heart.

Prayer To Bless Others…May you earnestly seek God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Prayer Filled Life – Day 90 – Psalm 63-1-4 – Earnestly I Seek You – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                Copying not permitted                                           www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Investigate My Life

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The Prayer Filled Life - Day 92 - Psalm 139-23-24 - Investigate My Life - Growing As Disciples

The Prayer Filled Life – Day 92 – Psalm 139-23-24 – Investigate My Life – Growing As Disciples

Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life. Psalm 139:23-24 (MSG)

Examine Me

That is what I want you to do. What do you want me to do? I want you to examine my life. I want you to a long and hard and close look at my life. Aren’t you worried about what I will find? Not at all. You are that confident? Yes, I am that confident. Wait, let me be clear, I am not confident in myself, that would be ridiculous. My confidence is in you. What kind of confidence do you have in me? I am confident that you love and care for me. I am confident that you are molding and shaping my life. I am confident that you are and will continue to make me into the person you want me to become. I am like a lump of clay in your hands. So, I am positive that you will see many things that need to be changed in me when you take a long and hard and close look at my life. I know it is silly and foolish for me to speaking in this way. You know more about me than I know about myself. You know what needs changing in me even before the thought of asking you to examine me entered my mind. Yes, I do. Why then bother asking me to examine your life? It is the asking that you want from me. It is my welcoming you to examine my life that is pleasing to you. It is my willingness to submit myself to you that brings you joy. Yes, it does. You must know more than you have already said. Yes, I do. Tell me what you know. You have been and are and will continue to do a good work in me. You are helping me to become like you in my thoughts and words and actions. What else? Nothing, but good can come out of my inviting you to examine my life. I will never regret that you examined my life. I will never regret when you change me in ways that please you. I want what you want. I want to live the life you have called me to life. I want to be the person you have called me to be. These desires that you have placed in me will only occur as you examine my life and do your good work in me. So here I am, and I will say it again, “examine me”. Yes, I will. Yes, I will continue to do my good work in you. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, examine my life thoroughly. Test me. Do your work in me. Mold and shape me. Make me to be like you. I want to think, speak, and act like you. Lead me as I walk through life with you. Guard and guide me as I live out the eternal life you have given me. Amen

Key Question…  How are you making it your daily practice to ask the Lord to investigate your life?

Living It Out…  Allow the Lord to examine your life and make changes in you.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that the Lord will examine your life and make changes in you.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how the Lord has examined your life and made changes in you.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you allow the Lord to investigate your life and make the changes He wants to make in you.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Prayer Filled Life – Day 92 – Psalm 139-23-24 – Investigate My Life – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    http://www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Help Others

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The Compassionate Life - Day 265 - Romans 15:1-3 - Help Others - Growing As Disciples

The Compassionate Life – Day 265 – Romans 15:1-3 – Help Others – Growing As Disciples

We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves.  We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.  For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Romans 15:1-3 (NLT)

Help Others

That is what I want you to do for me. What do you want me to do for you? I want you to help others. That may sound easy. That may seem like a very basic and very uncomplicated request. Does it? I don’t know, I’m not sure. You are right to be cautious. Why is that? I am asking a lot of you. Helping others will not always be easy. Helping others will often be everything but uncomplicated. Helping others will take you out of your comfort zone. Helping others will cause you inconvenience. Helping others will take you way out of your way. Helping others will require you to go the extra mile and then some. You can also be sure that you will receive no encouragement from the world and what it values. Those who are conforming to the world will largely be living to please themselves. You live in a “me first” world. Don’t let yourself be conformed into its pattern of thinking and speaking and acting. I won’t. It will be very good if you don’t.

So, what will you do? I will follow your example. I will live as you lived. I will give like you gave. I will serve like you served. I will rely on all the strength that you will give me to help those who are weak. I will build others up according to their needs. I will follow you to wherever you lead me to do whatever you ask me. I will have two questions on my mind and in my heart. What two questions will guide your thoughts and words and actions? I will ask you, “How do you want to use me?” I will ask others, “How can I help you?” You will do to have those questions continually on your mind and in your heart. Receiving and acting on the answers to those questions will make you able to bear fruit for my kingdom and bring glory to my name. Receiving and acting on the answers to those questions will make you able to be a bold and bright witness for me in the world. You will reap a rich harvest. You will store up treasure in heaven with me. You will live a life that is pleasing to me. That is what I want. That is what I will do. I will live to serve you and others. That will be very good.

Lord, on my own, I am weak. But I know that you have given me strength in you. You are with me to help me.  I will follow your example. I will never live to please myself. Instead, I will use the strength you have given me to help others and build them up. Amen

Key Question…  When has the Lord given you unusual strength to help those who are weak?

Living It Out…  Be willing to be inconvenienced and go far out of your way to help those who are weak.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that the Lord will give you strength to help those who are weak.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how the Lord has given you strength to help the weak.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you help others with all the strength the Lord has given to you.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Devotional Study Guide click here

The Compassionate Life – Day 265 – Romans 15-1-3 – Help Others – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    http://www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

A Pure Heart

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Identity - A Pure Heart - Psalm 51:10 - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Identity – A Pure Heart – Psalm 51:10 – Growing As Disciples

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Pure Heart

I’ve done it again. I’ve really blown it this time. I made a big mistake. I’ve made a really bad choice. Do you mean to say that you sinned? Yes, I do. Who have you sinned against? I’ve sinned against you and another person. It’s good that you are confessing this to me. There is no sense in trying to cover it up. You can’t hide it from me. I saw you do it in the first place. I tried to prompt you and show you a way of escape so that you would not sin. But, you would not listen. You let yourself be enticed. Did you not see the way of escape that was there for you to take? Yes, I guess I did. But, you didn’t want to take it, did you? No, I didn’t. Why is that? I got so wrapped up in the heat of the moment that I felt powerless to take the way of escape and do the right thing. You played around with this sin in your mind and once you did that the way of escape closed. Do you really want to do the right thing and not sin against me and other people? Yes, desperately so. How desperately are you willing to stop playing around with sin in your heart and mind? I am very willing. I want you to create in me a pure heart so that I will have clean thoughts and right desires. Are you asking me to forgive and cleanse you? Yes, I am. You will have to make things right with the person you have sinned against. I know, I will. Good, your sins are forgiven. My son has already taken care of that for you on the cross. He has already secured your forgiveness and cleansing. I know, I am so thankful. How thankful? Are you willing to take steps to turn away from sin when it attempts to entice you again? Yes, I am. Do you have something specific in mind? Yes, I do.

You have asked for a clean heart and a pure mind, haven’t you? Yes, I have. How do you think that will happen? I don’t know. That seems obvious to me. Do you realize that every day you are presented with a choice of what you will feed your heart and mind? How is that? Everything you hear or see enters your heart and mind. What you allow entrance will either help or harm you. Is there anything that you are watching or listening to that you think might displease me? Yes, there is. Are you willing to remove those from your hearing and sight? Yes, I am. Good, but that’s only half of the equation. What else is there? You will need to feed on my word. Why is that? As you feast on my word, I will change your heart and mind with it. Where do you suggest I begin? Begin meditating on and memorizing my word that speaks directly to where you are weak and most likely to be tempted. Will that help? Yes, the Holy Spirit will take my word that you have hidden in your heart and use it to help you to stand against attacks of temptation and evil. Are you ready to begin? Yes, I am.  

Father, thank you that my forgiveness and cleansing was secured on the cross, by your son Jesus Christ. Help me now to turn away from sin. Create in me a clean heart and mind as I feast on your word.  Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Identity – Psalm 51-10 – A Pure Heart – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com