God's Grace is Sufficient by Ann Elaine Broughton

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9 NIV).

   Do you have a thorn in your life that keeps bothering you? It could be an illness, fibromyalgia, arthritis, any condition that hurts and won’t go away. Jesus spoke the above words to Paul because he had a “thorn” and what he called “a messenger of Satan to torment him” (2 Cor. 12:7) He had prayed three times that God would take it away, but the Lord responded with the fact that His grace was sufficient for him. You see sometimes God says no, and we are to rest in the fact that just having His grace is enough. We need to be thankful that Jesus came and gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins. Heaven is enough. What ever else we have is a bonus. Sometimes the thorn we have actually makes us closer to God. It can make us more sympathetic to those who suffer from a “thorn”.  It helps us not become conceited and proud. It can make us totally humble.

    I have had fibromyalgia for over 37 years. Sometimes it is just a dull ache and sometimes it can be excruciating. Believe me when I say that I too prayed that God would take it away from me, but it has not happened. Instead, I have learned through each time of terrible debilitating pain to trust God to give me the strength to make it through it. He never failed me. Eventually, it would ease up and go back to that dull ache, which I have learned to live with. Because of my thorn, I have grown closer to my God. I am more sympathetic to those who hurt. Nobody can understand unless they have been through it. God is my strength when I am weak, just as He promised Paul.

    Maybe you are sitting there and nodding that the thorn is there and that you are having problems dealing with it. Please pray to God that He will help you accept it and that He will give you the strength that only He can give to overcome despair. Please reach out to others who have the same problem and tell them that you care and understand.

Also, tell them that you are praying for them. Sometimes if you take the focus off of yourself, you will feel so much better. It always is good to reach out to others.

Dear Lord,

Please let your grace be sufficient for me. Help me to go through life knowing that life wasn’t meant to be easy, and that I am to rely on your strength to support me when my strength is gone. I know that life is full of “thorns”. Help me to trust you in any situation that comes my way.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

Strive for Perfection by Ann Elaine Broughton

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 NIV).

 

    So how are you doing on your way to perfection? Jesus said the above words during His famous Sermon on the Mount. The point that Jesus was making is that we must strive to be perfect as God is in our daily life. The Sermon on the Mount goes into great detail on how we are to live. It is a very important passage to read as you strive to live a Christian life. Jesus put the bar very high in regards to living a life that is pleasing to God. But the thing is, you must read it in order for you to live it. It is in Matthew Chapters 5 through 8.

    An illustration about raising the bar to aim for perfection can be made in regards to pole vaulting. A pole vaulter is continually raising the bar in order to try to break a record. A pole vaulter practices every day and trains hard in order to get over the bar at the highest point possible. It takes stamina, courage, strength, precision, and perfection in order to get across the highest bar without touching it.

    Just like the pole vaulter, we too are to continue each day to read the Bible, pray, and learn how to live a Godly life so that we can try to be perfect just like Jesus said. The pole vaulter fails many times too. But gets back up and tries again. We too will fail, but we must then repent and try to do better the next time. We can count on God’s strength to help us reach for that high bar and find success. This never ends, because we will always have weaknesses in our lives that needs worked on.

    Ask God to show you where you can improve in your Christian walk.

He will reveal it to you so that you can grow in faith. Then thank Him for helping you. As long as you live, there will be ways that you can change and grow as a Christian. But you must continue to ask God to help you.

Dear Lord,

Help me as I strive to do your perfect will. I know that you can help me grow as a Christian. I want to keep raising the bar to be the person you want me to be.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

   

Wait for the Lord by Ann Elaine Broughton

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14 NIV).

    Have you ever wanted to push ahead with your own plans instead of praying and asking God for guidance? Or maybe you got an answer from God and you decided your way was far better. My husband and I pushed through closed doors once and found ourselves in a bad situation. We then learned that when God closes doors you don’t pound them down yourself. Anything you do in life needs to be preceded by prayer asking God to show you what His will is in this situation. Then be open to what happens and accept it if the answer is no. That is when it is so important to wait for God’s perfect timing.

    I once went to a Twila Paris concert and was impressed by her testimony. She said that she sensed that she should tell her story about trying to have a baby. She told all of us that it was so important to wait for God’s timing in your life. It could take years before you see results, but you need to keep the faith and believe that God is in control. She said it took them 12 years before they were able to have their first baby. It seemed like forever but God knew when the right time was for them to have it.

   You see in our human ways we want everything right now, but God knows when the exact right time is for something to happen for you. You must trust Him. You must believe that He knows what is best for your future and give it all into His hands. It could take awhile, but waiting will help you develop patience and perseverance.

    You know in this life it seems like we are always waiting for something. But instead, maybe we should be living in the right now, and believing that God has control in whatever happens in our future. With His strength and love we can face anything. So remember to: “be strong and take heart” God is always with you.

Dear Lord,

Help me as I wait and believe that you know what is best for me. Give me peace in my heart to know that you will always be there for me as I strive to do your will.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

God's Power is Available to You by Ann Elaine Broughton

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV).

   Do you realize that every day you have the divine power within you to make right choices? Are you calling upon that power to help you make decisions that affect other people? You see it is very easy to forget that we as Christians have within us the power of the Holy Spirit which gives us wisdom to make the right decisions in life. Have you ever wished you could have a “do over”?

    At my grandson’s birthday party the boys and my two sons went outside to launch some water balloons. This balloon launcher is held by to adults while the little boys put the balloon in and stretch the launcher as far back as they can. The balloon can fly over 200 yards if it is done right. Well, my one grandson tried to launch it and it just fell a few feet ahead of him. My son said, “That’s a do over, Nat.”  So he got another water balloon and shot it way over the fence. Yep, that “do over” worked out well.

    Have there been times in your life when you wanted a “do over”? Were words spoken that hurt someone? Did you do something that hurt someone deeply? Did you lie? Did you choose the wrong job? I am sure you could add more to this list. I have a recommendation for you that will help you so that you won’t have to worry about “do overs”. It is praying each morning and during the day for guidance from the Holy Spirit. God has given you divine power but you must hook up to it in order for you do make right choices and say the right words. You must believe that this power can be tapped at any time. I guarantee you that if you live this kind of life, one that is grounded in faith, you will have few desires for a “do over”. God wants you to live a life that is pleasing to him. You must be the one to put forth the effort in order to make it happen. Pray that the words that come out of your mouth are beneficial to others. Pray that the choices you make will please God in everything you do. This is available to you. Now do it.

Dear Lord,

I know that your divine power is available to me. Help me to make sure that all I say and do is pleasing to you so that I won’t regret words spoken in haste that hurt others. Help me to always pray for your guidance every day of my life.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen