Day 40 | He is Faithful

He Is Faithful

“They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:23

God has given Storehouse Church a vision for the future. As we have explored forty days of prayer and fasting in pursuit of this dream, we have found Him to be a faithful promise keeper. Today’s devotional is dedicated to praising the Lord for this aspect of His character.

Prayer Focus: Praise Him using this wonderful old hymn:

Great Is Thy Faithfulness
(Text by Thomas O. Chisholm. Music by William M. Runyan)

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Chorus
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and spring-time and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Repeat Chorus

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Repeat Chorus

Day 39 | Why Pray?

Why Pray?

“…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

James 5:16

Can prayer really make a difference? Can my prayers actually change things? Is it possible for the will of God to be thwarted because I don’t pray? These are legitimate questions. The answers you give them reflect the very foundation of your relationship with the Lord. On one hand, if God is Sovereign, He’s going to do everything the way He wants, so why pray? On the other hand, if He is waiting on my prayers to execute His will, then I had better get serious about praying really quick. How does His Sovereignty and my prayers go together?

God uses prayer to make the impossible, possible and the ordinary, extraordinary. Prayers make our efforts effective and help us to define God’s will more clearly. C.H. Spurgeon said, “Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray.” Faithful praying releases the Holy Spirit to act and allows us to see God in His full glory.

Someone once said, “God does things when we pray that He does not do when we do not pray.” May today’s devotional be an inspiration for you to seek the Lord in prayer. Look up prayer in your Bible’s concordance. Then read and study those verses it gives you. It will help you become endeared to prayer and to realize just how vital prayer is.

Prayer Focus: Thank God for hearing all the prayers that have been lifted up on our church’s behalf. Thank Him for answering them. Pray that God’s people at Storehouse will pray more than ever before and that everything we do as a church will be labored over in prayer.

Day 38 | Truth and Freedom

Truth and Freedom

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

In a day before politicians decided truth according to polls and partisanship, Abraham Lincoln made decisions based on principle. His most notable act was the Emancipation Proclamation. It was New Year’s Day, 1863, when this decree was first publicly stated. It would be almost two years later, after his death, that his convictions were made official in the Constitution. Lincoln took a stand without compromise that would nearly rip our nation apart and cause much bloodshed. He knew there were some things that were worth standing for, even if it meant a fight. Personal freedom for everyone is such a thing.

An unusual thing happened after the war. Even after an amendment to the Constitution, slaves continued to live as slaves. Shelby Foote records for us what one Alabama slave said in 1864, “I don’t know nothing ‘bout Abraham Lincoln ‘cep they say he set us free. And I don’t know nothing ‘bout that neither.” How tragic. Strange as it may seem, man preferred the security of slavery to the uncertainty of freedom.

It is tragic when someone does not exercise his personal freedom. Even more so are God’s people who have been set free spiritually but who are content to remain in their slavery. Jesus Christ is the Great Emancipator who has paid the ultimate price for His people to be free from the bondage of sin.

Consider these verses:

• “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
  
• “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” Romans 6:6-7
  
• “Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2

Prayer Focus: Pray that Storehouse believers are a discerning people who will claim our Christ-earned freedom.

Day 37 | Conversion = Changed Life

Conversion = Changed Life

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.” 1 Timothy 1:12

After Watergate, there was an abundance of books that were published by the various personalities involved. One of the most famous was Chuck Colson who wrote the very famous “Born Again.” This book detailed his conversion to Christ. All of these years later, we think of Chuck Colson as a great man who has had such an impact on the world through his prison ministries. We forget that before his conversion he was known as “the hatchet man.” It was a common saying in Washington that Colson would walk over his own mother for Nixon! Another player in the Watergate scandal was the very boisterous G. Gordon Liddy. One of the great quotes from his book tells of a time when a certain court date came around. Everyone had been discussing Colson’s conversion to Christianity. As Colson walked into the courtroom, Liddy was overheard to say, “Oh, no, if Colson would walk over his own mother for Nixon, just think what he will do for Jesus!”

Time has proven Colson’s conversion genuine. He certainly is one more example of how God can change a life. In 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul is encouraging Timothy in the faith to cherish, protect, and preach the Gospel. The reason is that the Gospel’s message changes lives. Indeed at Storehouse, the Gospel is preached so that our goal of making more and better followers of Christ can be met.

Prayer Focus: Pray that our church will always be a place that impacts the world for Jesus. Pray that each one of us will join together to help expand God’s kingdom and achieve Christlikeness.

Day 36 | Don't Drop Out of the Battle

Don’t Drop Out Of the Battle

“In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain.’” Psalm 11:1

In the 1984 Olympic Games hosted by Los Angeles, there was a memorable event in the women’s 3000 meter race. Two premier long distance runners were entered: Zola Budd, a South African running for Great Britain, and Mary Decker from the U.S.A. During the race, the two bumped. Budd landed awkwardly and was cut deeply by Decker’s spikes, but was able to continue. She finished a disappointing seventh. Mary Decker suffered a pulled left hip stabilizer muscle. Her injury put her out of the race.

In a spiritual sense, there are many Mary Deckers today. Wounded, they have quit running the race. Among the many images of life found in Scripture, there is the image of the runner and the image of battle. As believers in Jesus Christ we begin with a birth, but we discover quickly that this journey we are on is more like a battle. It is very difficult to persevere in a battle. In 1 Kings, chapter 22, the Bible records the time when King Ahab of Israel joined with Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, to battle against Syria. In the midst of the chaos, Ahab is struck by an arrow. He groans to the driver of his chariot, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” (verse 34)

There are many like Ahab who have been wounded in the battle for souls and have forsaken their place. The Scriptures are full of these warnings and admonitions. Galatians 5:7 says, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” A disturbing part of our culture today is an aversion to any kind of commitment. Our society is short on longevity and long on short-term, quick, instant “what have you done for me lately” attitudes. God teaches us differently through His Word to persevere.

Prayer Focus: Pray that our church will persevere with what the Lord has entrusted to us. Ask the Lord whom you can encourage to persevere today. Proverbs 11:25 says, “…he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Claim this promise as you act upon it.