IDOK DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2010
Praise Reports, Prayer Requests and Updates:
We have returned Ed Givhan to our prayer list along with his wife Joann. Ed is continuing to battle cancer and doctors have confirmed that Joann now has stage 3 cancer. These are dear people and much loved by friends; prayers so needed. Judy is home from the hospital with many hurtles to meet and cross over.
I am sitting to write today much later than I like but be that as it may, some good household privileges have gone on today. And since supper time prep is fast approaching this may be brief. Like ya’ll believe that, huh?
My Scripture reading has been limited today, just what I did first thing this morning. So I am hoping to draw upon that for our IDOK devotion. Read with me now a verse or two from Ephesians 5.
Verse 17: So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
How plain is that? It is foolish for us to not know the will of God. Would you agree that is what it says? And do you know the LORD well enough to know that He would not give us such a charge without instructions as to how to perform it? In verse 14 we are commanded to come out of our sleep, arise from the dead and when we do JESUS will shine on us. I see two messages here. One, to the lost to wake up and smell the coffee, throw off death and receive the gift of Eternal Life and JESUS will shine on you. Message two, to the saved: wake up and smell the coffee, throw off those dead works and let JESUS shine on you, through you.
Verse 15 Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
So if we want JESUS to shine in us we will be taking some care here how we live our day-to-day, wouldn’t you say? And how do we do that?
Verse 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
And why? Why not spend our hours and days any way we choose? Because our choices without the Holy Spirit will surely be unwise and moreover these days in which we are living are EVIL. We see it written here in our Text and across every Media Source we tune into, don’t we? You and I need to be wise in our choices of how we spend our time.
Now we have arrived at our lead in verse. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. is preceded by an admonishment from the Lord to be careful how we spend our time. Do you think how we spend our time has any direct bearing on whether or not we know the will of God for our lives? I am staking the integrity of the Word of my ABBA on it that it does.
Verse 18. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
There we have it! What happens when a soul drinks intoxicating beverages? That’s right he/she gets drunk. And in that drunken state, who’s in control of the Drinker’s five senses? Speech, vision, hearing, smell and taste, as well as motor skills? Certainly not the Drinker, but rather the drink. In like manner for us to be wise; for us to know the Will of God; for us to redeem the time, we must DRINK IN THE WORD OF GOD and give over the control of our five senses, motor skills, checkbook, clothes closet, pantry, etc. etc. to the HOLY SPIRIT. And to the degree that we do this is the degree we know the Will of God for us AND to that degree JESUS shines in us.
That’s it. That’s what Ephesians 5:14-18 says to me. And you?
To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.
ABBA, I pray I have handled Your Word accurately and that You, Holy Spirit, will be able to minister it to our IDOKs and Readers. I pray You will minster it to me, especially when I get into the thick of my day-to-day and become a hearer of Your Word and not a doer. LORD, hearts are heavy with this news about Joann; this news brings many changes for she and Ed and their children; more than I have the right to write about and right now I don’t even know what to pray. Certainly she and Ed both want to be healed and we think that would be altogether wonderful and we know the day will come when it shall be so yet experience tells us many hardships may come before that day and if that is the way of it, we pray for You to be glorified in every moment of it and for peace and joy unexplainable to be within Ed and Joann. And the word I have concerning Judy is not much different than for Joann, many hurtles and so I pray for You to hold her and comfort her and work out the practical matters and give Judy rest and peace and her family too. And we pray for all the others on our list as well. So much hard stuff; thank You for being with us; thank You that You do make all the hard stuff worth it.
I pray now in these moments for each IDOK and each Reader, for peace, for wisdom, for Your very Presence to be near and dear and precious. I pray You, O, LORD, will be more precious to each of us than anything or any other. I pray for Israel, for peace and safety. I thank You for the ‘retiring’ of a certain White House reporter and I pray that more and more unrepentant leaders will be removed from places of power and influence as You see fit. ABBA, I am so sorry for the sins of the people of America and I ask You to have mercy. I ask You to grant grace and space and I ask You, Holy Spirit, to be merciful and open the windows of Heaven and rain down conviction like we’ve never experienced. I pray for the people of America to repent and I pray for the Your Church to repent of our complacency; LORD, send fresh wind and fresh fire upon Your Church and help us IDOKs to stand firm until You do it in each of us for JESUS SAKE. Amen and amen.
