Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Timothy and Titus Training 101

Leadership Principle #2: PRAY

“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.” 1 Timothy 2, The Message

This is how we get to know God more and more. Prayer involves passionate, deep anticipated listening, expecting God to respond. It might in a whisper of thought to our soul. He might speak through a situation, giving you wisdom. He might reveal a solution to a tragic situation before you knew you needed a rescue. Prayer is not just an exercise of a morning devotion or wake up call, but a “here I am, Lord, what do you have planned for today?”

Through humble prayer we realize how small we are compared to our Heavenly Father who loves us and is waiting to give HIS best for us when we come to Him. He delights in even the smallest details of our lives. What is big to us is tiny to Him, but He delights in us telling Him about them anyway.

Prayer is intimacy with our Lord. HE hears every prayer. He knows us by name. He knows the people we are holding up to Him in prayer. He knows our hearts and the depths of our belief in knowing that He hears us and is already working on it…or him…or her, showing His power and glory!

He wipes away the tears that fall when we cry out to him in anguish over being offended or brought down low when trying to lead well. He brings peace in the middle of the storm, so we lead well with calm and assurance. In doing this, He reminds us that He went through the same things we are going through and more…and He is there, right beside us.

He reminds us that HE fights the battles while we pray. We run to the battle, fall on our knees, and He wins. Every. Time. We accept His will, His timing, His plan for we know and believe that HE wants the best for all of us.

Jesus prayed. Jesus wept. Jesus carried a cross of shame. Jesus paid the debt of all our sin. Jesus taught and led his disciples to pray. He knew they would need this intimacy of prayer to give them strength and direction when He ascended to heaven to prepare a place for them…and for all who came after them.
“Matthew 6:9–13 (ESV) “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”

Pray in Jesus Name. This reminds us that we are asking for God’s will to, indeed, be done and not our own. Prayer, in Jesus Name, is acknowledging, every time, that Jesus is Lord, the One and Only mediator to God the Father. In Jesus Name, our sins are washed away. Indeed. Once and for all.

While Jesus was on this earth, He prayed, asking God for His direction for every move He made. Jesus, the Son of God! Why, then, do we NOT pray before beginning each day to get our “marching orders”? Jesus said, “The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.” (John 14:10, NLT) Words fall over our lips from a heart that is set toward God, full to overflowing with HIS Holy Spirit.

A leader who prays, listening for every word of God’s response, is a leader who is intimately in love with the One who loves him/her most. That person is one I will follow because they are following God. How about you?

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for teaching us to pray, to talk with You about anything and everything, knowing You are listening and waiting for us to express it before it is even on our lips. You are God and we are not. You knew we needed this intimate communication that is constant and never ceasing. Thank you, Lord, for making the way clear to the Father. May Your Kingdom come and reign in me today. May Your will be done on earth, in every detail in our lives, as it is in heaven. In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.

And I’m singing…”In Jesus Name”….

Hope for all the world, You came down,
Traded heaven’s throne for a sinner’s crown,
Grace poured out.
Son of righteousness crucified,
Hanging on the cross You paid the price,
To give us life…

In Jesus’ name our sins are washed away,
In Jesus’ name we are rescued, we are saved,
For love has come to make a way for us,
In Jesus’ name there is freedom for the broken,
In Jesus’ name there is healing for the hopeless,
For all our days, we rest in Jesus’ name…

You alone are good forever true,
Never far away, we’re holding on to You,
Only You…

Thessalonians – Living Forward

When we are working hard to get something accomplished and the person next to you, who could be helping you, is texting on their phone, it’s annoying. Right? Laziness is annoying. Isn’t it amazing how skillful lazy people are at rationalizing their lack of drive and push. “I’m tired, I deserve a break.” “I have a bad back, so I can’t help you.” “I got up too late so therefore I cannot help you.” “My mood is bad, so I should not be around others right now.” “I’m feel a cold coming on, so I should stay in bed.” “I loved the meal, but now I am too full to help you clean up.” The list goes can go on and on…We might have all used these excuses before ourselves. Yikes.

Paul warns God’s church of believers about laziness. Listen in with open hearts as we read the last part of his letter to the Thessalonians. He has been so encouraging and full of praise through both letters. The believers are “living Jesus”, “living forward”. Then they are warned about how to deal with laziness…by confronting with care.

2 Thessalonians 3, The Message
Those Who Are Lazy
3 1-3 One more thing, friends: Pray for us. Pray that the Master’s Word will simply take off and race through the country to a groundswell of response, just as it did among you. And pray that we’ll be rescued from these scoundrels who are trying to do us in. I’m finding that not all “believers” are believers. But the Master never lets us down. He’ll stick by you and protect you from evil.

4-5 Because of the Master, we have great confidence in you. We know you’re doing everything we told you and will continue doing it. May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God’s love and Christ’s endurance.

6-9 Our orders—backed up by the Master, Jesus—are to refuse to have anything to do with those among you who are lazy and refuse to work the way we taught you. Don’t permit them to freeload on the rest. We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. We didn’t sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of us. And it wasn’t because we didn’t have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.

10-13 Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” And now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don’t slack off in doing your duty.

14-15 If anyone refuses to obey our clear command written in this letter, don’t let him get by with it. Point out such a person and refuse to subsidize his freeloading. Maybe then he’ll think twice. But don’t treat him as an enemy. Sit him down and talk about the problem as someone who cares.

16 May the Master of Peace himself give you the gift of getting along with each other at all times, in all ways. May the Master be truly among you!

17 I, Paul, bid you good-bye in my own handwriting. I do this in all my letters, so examine my signature as proof that the letter is genuine.

18 The incredible grace of our Master, Jesus Christ, be with all of you!

What do we learn?
–Don’t get annoyed, sit down and talk it over in a caring manner.
–Don’t treat them as an enemy, holding a grudge for them.
–Ask for help.
–Get along with EVERYONE at ALL times.
–God will be with us. A promise that will not be broken.

Dear Heavenly Father, We repent of the times we were lazy and just gave up when there was still work to be done. We repent of holding grudges instead of asking for help. We thank you for always being with us, through the good times and bad, for loving us deeply and for your amazing patience with us. Continue to go with us this busy day. In Jesus Name, Amen

I am reminded of an old hymn that crosses my mind from time to time, especially when I used to clean bathrooms at the church…”We Work ‘Til Jesus Comes”….Smiling….

O land of rest, for thee I sigh!
When will the moment come
When I shall lay my armor by
And dwell in peace at home?
Refrain:
We’ll work till Jesus comes,
We’ll work till Jesus comes,
We’ll work till Jesus comes,
And we’ll be gathered home.

Thessalonians – Living Forward

We are so loved by God. YOU are loved by God. I am loved by God. Stop, and just let that sink in. The more we realize how much WE are loved, even though it is hard to wrap our minds around the depth of God’s unconditional love, we will love others more deeply, sincerely with less conditions. Think about it. The more we understand and accept how much we are loved by God, we love others more with a higher standard with less conditions! More mercy for each other, more grace extended, all because of understanding deeply the Father’s love for us.