RISE
AND SHINE
BREAD
35 Very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Mark 1:35 (NIV)
46 After
leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. Mark 6:46 (NIV)
3 In
the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before
you and wait in expectation. Psalms 5:3
(NIV)
7 Now
Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away,
calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the
tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the
people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he
entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would
come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever
the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they
all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. 11 The
LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then
Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not
leave the tent. Exodus 33:7-11 (NIV)
2 “The
Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to
me: ‘When one rules over men in
righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, 4 he
is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the
brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.’” 2 Samuel 23:2-4 (NIV)
22 Because
of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They
are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I
will wait for him.” 25 The
LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it
is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:22-26 (NIV)
7 This
is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go
up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may
take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. Haggai 1:7-8 (NIV)
7 I,
Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it,
but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So
I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face
turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then
I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my
face to the ground. 10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and
knees. 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,
consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I
have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then
he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your
mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words
were heard, and I have come in response to them. Daniel 10:7-12 (NIV)
2 “But
for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in
its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then
you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your
feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 4:2-3 (NIV)
14 For
this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from
whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I
pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through
his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may
have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high
and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that
you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now
to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to
him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for
ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21
(NIV)
BUTTER
“God alone can
bless His people, keep them, look on them with favor (make His face shine and turn
His face toward them), be gracious to them, and give them peace.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary
“A holy life will
produce the deepest impression.
Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.” D.L.
Moody
“The glitzy lights
of this world are no match for the True Light of Jesus which shines forth
through every believer. While certainly
louder and touting the promise of satisfaction, the world fails miserably in
its offer of continued contentment, joy and peace. Like the drug addict, all the world does is
keep one longing for more. With Christ
there is no wanting. He is the Living
Water which totally fills the cup. Daily
be filled with Him and everything else is merely a cherry on top.” BHY
“God’s promises are like the stars; the darker the night,
the brighter they shine.” David Nicholas
“God
has called us to shine.” Dwight L. Moody
“The saints are God's holy people. The apostle Paul
speaks about all those who belong to Christ as ‘holy people’ or ‘saints.’ He
directs his letters to ‘those who have been consecrated in Christ Jesus and
called to be God’s holy people’ (1 Corinthians 1:2; see also Ephesians 1:1).
This sanctity is the work of the Spirit of Jesus. Paul again says: ‘All of us,
with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter
glory; this is the working of the Lord who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians
3:18). As saints we belong to that huge
network of God’s people that shines like a multitude of stars in the dark sky
of the universe.” Henri Nouwen
“When it’s hard to hold on, no one holds on to what is cool. They hold on to Christ. When it’s hard to hold on, no one holds on
to what is hip. They hold on to Him who is
holy and healing.
When it’s
hard to hold on, we don’t hold on to what’s trendy. We hold on to the True Vine. We don’t hold on to the prevailing and the popular, we hold on to the
Prince of Peace, the true Perfecter of our Faith. We only rise because of the Gospel — the astonishing news that grace
has grabbed the unworthy, and Christ cleans the unbearable, and God redeems the
unlikely, and we live the unexpected.” Ken Shigematsu
“Prayer is always the preface to
blessing. It goes before the blessing as
the blessing’s shadow. When the sunlight
of God’s mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far
down upon the plain. Prayer is thus
connected with the blessing to show us the value of it. If we had the blessings without asking for
them, we should think them common things; but prayer makes our mercies more
precious than diamonds.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
“If God knows what things we have
need of, before we ask him, where lies the advantage of prayer? If he is ready,
of his own free will, to assist us, what purpose does it serve to employ our
prayers, which interrupt the spontaneous course of his providence? The very
design of prayer furnishes an easy answer. Believers do not pray, with the view
of informing God about things unknown to him, or of exciting him to do his
duty, or of urging him as though he were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray,
in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that they may exercise
their faith in meditating on his promises, that they may relieve themselves
from their anxieties by pouring them into his bosom; in a word, that they may
declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for
others, all good things.” John
Calvin
HEART SAVOR
·
Our lights shine brightly when we
have been much in prayer with the Lord.
·
In the morning, go up in prayer,
being down what He bestows and build for His glory for our good.
·
If Jesus continually sought God in
prayer, how much more so should we?
