Making Prayer A Priority

Monday, August 3, 2026

Be still and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10

Making Prayer A Priority

When we have a relationship with God and spend time with Him every day in prayer and reading His word, it will become a priority in our lives.  We have to make it a priority because the last thing Satan wants you to do is to be on your knees talking to God.  Satan knows the power of prayer, maybe better than we do.  When we go to God in prayer, we are going to battle against Satan. 

Having a disciplined prayer and study time each day will become the calm in the eye of the storm of life.  Sometimes just sitting and “being” with God is the best.  There are days when we just need to feel His presence and that does more for us at that time than opening our Bibles or trying to make sense of what we are feeling to try to put into a prayer.  He knows what we are feeling, and He knows what we need.  Having a relationship with Him means that He knows us like we know our best friends, but even better.

The Bible says that we are to “pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17 This means that we are to be in an attitude of prayer at all times.  That means we never close the communication lines with God.  He is always there with us and we have instant access to Him every second of the day.  We don’t have to wait on Him or worry that He is not with us, even when it doesn’t feel like He is there. 

When we pray, there are some things we can do to help us stay focused on God and not let our minds wander:

• Pray out Loud – Praying out loud can help us keep our thoughts straight and concentrate on what we are praying about.  
• Keep a Prayer List - Write down the things and people you want to pray about.  It also helps you see the victories of answered prayers.  
• Have Paper close by – Sometimes the Lord will bring people to your mind and reveal truths to you that you won’t want to forget.  

Spending time in prayer every day certainly doesn’t mean that everything will go your way all the time.  It just means that when things do happen, we have a direct line to the God of the universe.  Some of the answers we get will be hard answers that we don’t want, and we don’t understand but if we know that God’s hand is on our lives and He cares for us, we can trust His plan.  

Whatever we value, we invest in and we make time for whatever we feel is important.  If it is important to us, we make time for it, we rearrange our schedules or cut some things out.  The same is true of our time with God each day.  If we aren’t careful, it is easy to skip our quiet time when we feel rushed, tired, or the pressure of the season we are in is crushing on all sides.  These are the times we need to be in His presence so much more.  These are the times we may need to just sit in silence and let Him wash over us.  

Guard your time with Him.  Make it a priority as you would feeding your physical body.  Prayer and time with God are food for our souls.  It feeds our faith and gives us the strength and hope to face our lives. 

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus “The Outsider”

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus
“The Outsider”
Matthew 8:5-13 (CSB)

 

Key Truth: All are invited to come and see the truth found in Jesus.

Main Question: How does Jesus’ compassion bring hope and life to the outsider? 

1. The outsider’s need. (vs. 5-6)

3 times people turn to Jesus: 

1. Expectation 

2. Realization 

3. Desperation

2. The outsider’s hope. (vs. 7-12)

 

3. The outsider’s faith. (vs. 13)

After the Message: 
Read Matthew 8:5-13. Do you know someone who is an outsider? What is their greatest need? How can you invite them to come and see Jesus this week?  

  

The Spirit of Truth vs The Spirit of the World

 Friday, July 31, 2026

The Spirit of Truth vs The Spirit of the World – 1John 4:1-6 Submitted by Kay Crumley

Truth, what is it? Whose truth are you talking about? Maybe these are questions you’ve asked or heard before. In this culture many believe truth is relative and there is no definitive truth. However, we know God’s Word is truth. Scripture teaches that the battles we face are not of this world but of the spiritual realm. Thus, there are spirits, good and evil, fighting for our attention and allegiance. 

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

John wrote to the believers calling them friends or beloved warning them about false prophets. We must test the teaching we hear to ensure they are from God and not from the worldly spirits. Those that are based on falsehoods or opinion. Matthew 15:18  
But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. 

2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

What is the test we are using? John states it simply; the spirit that is from God, truth, declares that Jesus Christ is both God and man. It is the teaching from scripture. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word, God became flesh, man. He is truly God in the form of man. It was necessary for Him to come to earth in that manner to be able to provide the final sacrifice for our sin so we can be sons and daughters of the King. 

4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.

Those who have become children of God have the Holy Spirit living in them and are filled with His power. We are overcomers not because of our human power but because the One in us is all powerful. The false teachers are not from God and are teaching things that do not align with scripture. Those who know God will hear the truth and understand Godly teaching. All others who do not accept the truth found in His Word are only trying to confuse and deceive the truth. We must test the truth by searching the Bible and determine if the teaching we hear aligns with God’s Word. That is discernment and it begins with our knowing His truth and having intimate relationship with the One True God, Jesus Christ.

Discontentment in Paradise

 Thursday, July 30, 2026

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17

Discontentment in Paradise

Adam and Eve were in literal paradise. The Garden of Eden was lush and green and covered with beautiful plants and it contained everything they would ever need. God had given them this amazing place to live – paradise on earth.  Everything in the garden was for them – except for one tree. God told them not to eat the fruit from one tree, but every other thing in the garden was theirs.  

Our human nature is to want more than what we have and to be ungrateful for what we have been given. Adam and Eve were siting in paradise but where did they focus?  On the ONE thing they could not have. Their lives couldn’t get any better, but Satan was able to get them to look away from the abundance of God’s gifts and look and the deprivation of one thing. Satan will always try his best to get us to focus on what we don’t have, even if we have paradise in the palm of our hands, and he doesn’t have to try very hard.  We make it really easy for him. 

The real fall in the Garden was discontentment with what God had given. They had a choice as we do, to choose contentment that only comes from God or to choose to find it in what is forbidden by God.  What Adam and Eve didn’t grasp was that God had forbidden that fruit for a reason and it was to protect them. And God knew that to not choose Him would be to lose the goodness of the gift He had given them.  

We become so blinded by our discontentment that we don’t see our blessings. We become so deceived by Satan that we chase that contentment in what God forbids, and we end up more discontented than ever. We lose our paradise. All God has given is good and all that is against His word is not good.  He gave us the freedom to choose, just like He did Adam and Eve. Today focus on the blessings around you and don’t be lured into focusing on what is not.    

 

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:20

Continual Praise

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Are any among you suffering?  They should keep praying about it.  And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord.  James 5:13

Continual Praise

Every day we hear about people crying out to God for healing, comfort, peace, restoration, or mercy.  While God does want us to come to Him for those things he also wants to hear from us when things are going well.  So often we are on our knees constantly when life is hard but our praying muscles don’t get much use when life is going well.  God has given us every good and perfect thing we have (James 1:17).  It is so easy to take “the good stuff” for granted and forget to thank the One who gave it all to us.  

Life in and of itself gives us many reasons to fall on our face and cry out to God for help and in the waves of relief that come on the heels of a crisis we remember to thank Him for the outcome.  But we have many reasons to praise God on a daily basis, no matter the circumstances:

1.    We praise God because He is worthy of our praise. ( 1 Chron. 16:25; Rev. 5:11-14). He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is our Creator, Provider, Healer, Redeemer, Judge, Defender and much more.  Just because He is God makes Him automatically worthy of our praise.

2.    We praise God out of obedience.  The first commandment says “You shall have no other Gods before me.”  He is a jealous God, seeking a relationship with us, lifting us from the miry clay and standing at the door to our hearts and knocking.  He wants and desires our praise and adoration.  

3.    We praise God for personal fulfillment.  The Bible tells us we were created to praise God.  
Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."  Isa 43:7 The sin in man creates a gulf between God and man and praise helps restore that relationship.  When we draw near to the Father in praise, He draws near to us.  

As a parent it gives me great joy when my kids come up to me and say “I love you” or “thank you” for no reason.  Think about how much more our Heavenly Father loves to hear thanks and praise from us just because.  What better example as a parent can I give my child than to model the act of praise and thankfulness to my heavenly father every day, even when there is not an urgent need.  

Take a look at your life today.  Think about all the blessings God has given you and thank Him for each one.  He wants us to praise Him in the storm, but he also wants us to praise Him when the sun is shining!

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18   

Two Are Better Than One

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.  For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.   Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?  And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is that of friends.  He knew that we would not be able to do this life on our own.  We have Him but sometimes we also need someone beside us holding our hand, praying with us and for us, and fighting our battles with us.  1 Samuel 18:1speaks of the close friendship of David and Jonathan - As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Have you ever had a friend that you were so close to that you felt like your souls were knit together?  I have, and it is a beautiful mystery how you can feel so close to another individual that you may not have even known for years.  When God puts people together, He doesn’t follow any rules.  

The Bible gives us some good information on friendships: 

A Friend is True, Unchangeable- Knowing someone involves sharing your mind and heart...Loving someone involves the sharing of your emotions.  Love is the basic quality of friendship.  People will accept or reject the person that we reveal.  True friends are there for us in good times and bad. They come alongside us during the trials.  Many a man has discovered who his true friends were when he became unable to give but could only receive.  A friend is not just a friend because you enjoy giving to them.  Even greater is that you can receive from them. 

A Friend is Valuable- Many acquaintances (friends) will cause compromise in life. Trying to maintain a non-threatening position before everyone invites compromise in life. True friends accept you as you are but challenge you to be better. The Bible says that we cannot be friends with the world and God at the same time because one will be offended. Chameleon living is the result of living for friends and trying to become whatever they want you to be in order to be accepted and when we do that, we can’t be living for God. Most of us will only have a handful of true friends in our lifetime. 

A Friend Should Never Be Forsaken– We should always help a friend in need if we can.  Not to accept help from friends when you are in need is pride.  Let others have the joy you have by receiving.  

Friends help us realize our self-worth.  We can’t be a good friend and be selfish, so it helps us to focus on others in giving and receiving.  There is a cost of commitment, caring, love, and loyalty.  Friends can have an eternal impact on our lives.  The best friends will lead us to Jesus and they will build us up, not tear us down.  Jesus is a friend that never leaves or forsakes us.  He went to Calvary for us while we were still sinners, so we can have eternal life with God.  He paid the highest price for us.  Friendships are crucial for our health, higher success, for self-improvement, for other people, and for genuine religion--true spirituality.  They are a beautiful gift from God.  Take some time today to spend with your friends, so they know what a gift they are. 

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:7-8 

One Thing…

Monday, July 27, 2026

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance – for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  Proverbs 1:5-7

One Thing…
The Book of Proverbs is one of the most quoted, most read, and least followed books of the Bible. Proverbs seems to be speaking a warning to those who read it. Solomon actually wrote it for his son.  Did you ever hear your parent say, “Let me tell you just one thing…” and then go on for an hour? This is Solomon saying, “One thing I will tell you…” and then he expands upon the one thing.What is the “One Thing?”  Seek Wisdom above all things. The writer of Proverbs calls out to all who will hear to seek the beauty, prosperity and peace of wisdom.  

Because Proverbs is a biblical book, some people think wisdom is something “spiritual?” But Wisdom is not just spiritual in nature, it is practical. It is going to show itself in your life.

There are a variety of words that are intermingled in Proverbs relating to wisdom. Knowledge, instruction, understanding, commandments, insight, learning, discernment, teaching...all carry insightful distinctions about wisdom. Information comes through the awareness of our senses as data which is retained as knowledge and used to develop understanding of our world, others and ourselves in relation to that world. Wisdom is the skill or ability to optimally apply understanding to produce right living and benefit ourselves, others and God. In essence, wisdom has to do with choosing what is right and good as we live our daily lives. Wisdom demands control of our passions so that reason and knowledge prevail to determine our actions.

Wisdom Comes From Truth
Truth: That which is considered to be the supreme unchangeable reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.

There are physical laws in life that you cannot supersede without penalty.  Gravity is the most obvious.  There are also biological, social, relational and spiritual laws that cannot be violated without loss.  You cannot abuse your body, and have it function properly.  You cannot kill or steal and not pay a consequence.  You cannot abuse others and have fulfilling relationships.  You cannot doubt God and have peace.  These are truths.  You won’t break them as much as they will break you. Parents and others seek to lead young lives to recognize and cooperate with truth.  Fools believe they can ignore truth and succeed.

Truth Comes From God - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Proverbs 1:7
Reverence: “The fear” This fear (reverence) for God is pivotal in our lives. If we do not come to God in submission and reverence, we reject wisdom.  “Know that the Lord Himself is GOD!” Psalm 100:3a  When we bow our knees to the person and purposes of God, He will replace our ugliness and despair with beauty and strength.  He will teach us to live as victors.  He can give us a life that bears the indelible mark of his wisdom, a life of optimism, conquest, happiness, usefulness.  What God proposes to do with us only awaits our willingness to do it.  If we do not know God, we cannot know the truth. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)

The essence of wisdom is full knowledge, not only knowledge of the facts, but a knowledge of God Himself.  You may have biblical knowledge, but do you really have a knowledge of God?  Once we gain knowledge of God, we must live our lives in this knowledge, staying close to Him.  Then we can lean into that knowledge when making choices and important decisions in our lives. 

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus “The Self-Righteous”

Come and See: Encounters With Jesus
“The Self-Righteous”
Mark 3:1-6 (CSB)

 

Self-Righteous: Convinced of one's own righteousness especially in contrast with the actions and beliefs of others : narrow-mindedly moralistic

Key Truth: All are invited to come and see the truth found in Jesus.

Main Question: How can we guard against a self-righteous heart that looks religious but ends up rejecting Jesus? 

1.        The Context  (vs. 1-2)

 

2.        The Confrontation (vs. 3-4)

 

3.        The Consequences (vs. 5-6)

 

After the Message: 

After the Message…  Read Mark 3:1-6.  Examine your own heart for any area of self-righteousness. Do you find yourself more concerned about traditionalism than God working around you? Are you more concerned with the appearance of godliness or being religious than actually loving God and others?