Orthodox Prayer

O Lord, grant me to greet

     the coming day in peace.

Help me in all things

    to rely upon Your Holy Will.

In every hour of the day

    reveal Your Will to me.

Bless my dealings

    with all who surround me.

Teach me to treat all that comes to me

    with peace of soul and with firm conviction

        that Your Will governs all.

In all my deeds and words,

    guide my thoughts and feelings.

In unforeseen events let me not forget

    that all are sent by You.

Teach me to act lovingly, firmly and wisely,

    without embittering or embarrassing others.

Grant me strength to bear

    the fatigues of the coming day.

Direct my will,

    teach me to pray,

        pray You Yourself in me.

                                                                                         Amen

Perfect Peace - Isaiah 26:3-4

You will keep in perfect peace

    him whose mind is steadfast, 

         because he trusts in You.

Trust in the LORD forever, 

    for the LORD, the LORD,  
         is the Rock eternal.
 

Hope In Your Word - Psalm 119

I have put my hope in Your word

Psalm 119:43
Psalm 119:74
Psalm 119:81
Psalm 119:114
Psalm 119:147
 

Give Thanks To The Lord - OT Verses

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

    His love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34
1 Chronicles 16:41

2 Chronicles 7:3 & 6
2 Chronicles 20:21

Ezra 3:11

Psalm 106:1
Psalm 107:1
Psalm 118:1
Psalm 118:29
Psalm 136:1 & 26

Jeremiah 33:11

Mountains - Psalm 90:1-2

Lord, you have been our dwelling place

    throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
 

By Ways They Have Not Known - Isaiah 42:16

“I will lead the blind by ways 
they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths 
I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light 
before them

and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsake them.”
 

With A Quiet Heart

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

 

The LORD Almighty has sworn,

Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,

and as I have purposed, so it will stand…

For the LORD Almighty has purposed, 

    and who can thwart him?

His hand is stretched out, 
    and who can turn it back?

                                                                 - Isaiah 14:24,27
 

Give Thanks, Choose Joy

Give Thanks

Choose Joy

Do Not Fret

Do The Next Thing
Accept with Joy
Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart,
     and Lean Not on Your Own Understanding
 

Do The Next Thing

From an old English parsonage 

    down by the sea

There came in the twilight 

    a message to me;

Its quaint Saxon legend, 

    deeply engraven,

Hath, it seems to me, 

    teaching from Heaven.

And on through the hours 

    the quiet words ring

Like a low inspiration, 

    "Do The Next Thing."

Many a questioning, 

    many a fear,

Many a doubt, 

    hath its quieting here.

Moment by moment, 

    let down from Heaven,

Time, opportunity, 

    guidance, are given.

Fear not tomorrows, 

    child of the King,

Trust them with Jesus, 

    Do The Next Thing.

Do it immediately, 

    do it with prayer;

Do it reliantly, 

    casting all care;

Do it with reverence, 

    tracing His hand

Who placed it before thee 

    with earnest command.

Stayed on Omnipotence, 

    safe 'neath His wing,

Leave all resultings, 

    Do The Next Thing.

Looking to Jesus, 

    ever serener,

Working or suffering, 

    be thy demeanor;

In His dear presence, 

    the rest of His calm,

The light of His countenance 

    be thy psalm,

Strong in His faithfulness, 

    praise and sing.

Then, as He beckons thee, 

    Do The Next Thing. 

                                                    - Author Unknown

The Anchors Holds

The Anchor Holds,

    Sure,

        Steadfast,

            Our Hope.

Trust in Jesus.

                                                - Pastor Joe Focht

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, 
    firm and secure.  
It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 
    where Jesus, who went before us, 
        has entered on our behalf. 

                                                - Hebrews 6:19-20
 

Attitude Of Gratitude

Give thanks to the LORD,
    for He is good;
His love endures forever.

                                                   - Psalm 136:1
 

He Will Rejoice Over You - Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in His love He will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.

Barrenness Into Beauty - Isaiah 41:18-20

Surrender

  Trust

    Stay the course

I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
    and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
    and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert
    the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle 
        and the olive.
I will set pines in the wasteland,
    the fir and the cypress together,
so that people may see and know,
    may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
    that the Holy One of Israel has created it.   
 

Potter's Field Ministries

www.pottersfield.org

In making pottery, if there is no water, there will be no pot.  We need the washing of God's Word in order to be able to be shaped into the pot the Potter wants us to be. 

We are the clay which is shaped through the washing of the Word, and through pressure applied to us by the Master Potter on the Potter's wheel.  The pressures applied to us are the circumstances of life.

 

A self-centered Christian is off-center, and the only way to get back is through repentance.

A potter has to dig deep to get rid of the GUNK in the bottom of the pot he's making.  We need to give Jesus permission to dig deep and get the GUNK out.  We need repentance.  For example, we may be harboring hatred, resentment, and bitterness deep inside, we may have a critical spirit, and we may be holding grudges.  We need to surrender all this at the foot of the Cross, at the Lord's feet. 

Yield yourself to the Master Potter's hand.  Give Him your whole heart, not just pieces of it.  Trust Him with everything that you are and everything you hope to become in the future.  You are becoming a beautiful, functional vessel under His hands.  The Lord wants to remove the GUNK.

We may think He's making us into a vase, but He may really be making us into a bowl.  Sometimes the cut has to go deep to change the direction of our lives.  We may be seeking our will for our lives, and not God's will for our lives.  Are we living for ourselves or for Him?  He will allow us to make wrong choices in life, and use those choices as part of His shaping process.

What are you trying to stuff in the God-shaped hole in your heart?  Only one thing can mend a broken heart – the blood of Jesus Christ.

Come back to Him.  Yield to Him.

 

Jesus is all I have.

Jesus is all I need.

Jesus is all I ever want.

The clay has no idea what the Potter is going to do with it.  In the heat of the fire, two plus two doesn't equal four.  It is only when we look back can we sometimes see what the Potter had been doing in our lives, through Providential circumstances.

We should want all that God has for us.

God loves the clay.  He doesn't notice that He gets dirty as He's molding us, because He always sees the finished vessel first.  You are going to look great in your Father's house.

We have to go through the fire.  We have to stand and trust.  While we're in the fire He's got His arms around us.

Our goal – to hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 
 

The Potter And The Clay - Verses

Yet, O Lord, you are our Father.

    We are the clay, you are the potter,

    we are all the work of your hand.  - Isaiah 64:8

This is the word that came to Jeremiah 
     from the Lord:

"Go down to the potter's house,

     and there I will give you my message."

So I went down to the potter's house,

     and I saw him working at the wheel.

But the pot he was shaping

from the clay was marred in his hands;

     so the potter formed it into another pot,

     shaping it as seemed best to him. 

Then the word of the Lord came to me:

“O house of Israel,

     can I not do with you as this potter does?”

          declares the Lord.

“Like clay in the hand of the potter,

     so are you in my hand,

          O house of Israel.” - Jeremiah 18:1-6

  

Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord,

    but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

                                                     - Proverbs 28:14

The Lord formed the man from the 
          dust of the ground

     and breathed into his nostrils 
              the breath of life,

          and the man became a living being.  
                                                                               - Genesis 2:7

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and 
       wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the 
        depths of the earth,

    your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

    were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.  - Psalm 139:13-16

He who began a good work in you

  will carry it on to completion 
    until the day of Christ Jesus. 

                                                           - Philippians 1:6

"For I know the plans I have for you," 
          declares the Lord,

     "plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

           plans to give you hope and a future."  
                                                                          - Jeremiah 29:11 
 

The Sheep Aren't Responsible...

...for running the ranch.
 

The Divine Director - Verses

In his heart a man plans his course,
    but the LORD determines his steps.   
                                                                             - Proverbs 16:9

A man’s steps are directed by the LORD.
    How then can anyone understand 
        his own way?

                                                           - Proverbs 20:24

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 

    and lean not on your own understanding; 

In all your ways acknowledge Him, 

    and He will direct your paths.  
                                                                           - Proverbs 3:5-6

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, 

    your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 

        “This is the way; walk in it.”  - Isaiah 30:21

And we know that in all things 

    God works for the good of those who love him, 

        who have been called 
             according to his purpose. 

                                                             - Romans 8:28

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
                                              declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts."  
                                                               - Isaiah 55:8-9

"The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God stands forever.”   
                                                                               - Isaiah 40:8

For I know the plans I have for you,” 
                                              declares the LORD, 

    “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 

         plans to give you hope and a future. 

Then you will call upon me and come and 
        pray to me, 

    and I will listen to you.  

You will seek me and find me 

    when you seek me with all your heart."  
                                                                    - Jeremiah 29:11-13

  

“The God who made the world and 
           everything in it

     is the Lord of heaven and earth

        and does not live in temples built by hands. 

And he is not served by human hands, 

    as if he needed anything,  

because he himself gives all men life and breath

    and everything else.   

From one man he made every nation of men, 

    that they should inhabit the whole earth; 

and he determined the times set for them 

    and the exact places where they should live. 

God did this so that men would seek him 

    and perhaps reach out for him and find him, 

        though he is not far from each one of us. 

‘For in him we live and move 
        and have our being.’ 

                                                         - Acts 17:24-28
 

Choose Joy

For God So Loved The World - John 3:16

For God so loved the world

    that He gave His one and only Son,

that whoever believes in Him

    shall not perish but have eternal life.

* God's Basic Message Of Salvation *

GOD’S BASIC MESSAGE OF SALVATION

ACCORDING TO THE HOLY BIBLE   

    with some Scripture verses for you to look up    

The Bible was inspired by God ~ 2 Peter 1:20-21

 

God Loves You! ~ John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 

                                       John 4:9-10

 

Sin Entered God’s Perfect World.  
Therefore, All Of Mankind Is Now 
Sinful By Nature And Is Separated From God ~
      Genesis 3:1-20;  Romans 5:12; 
      Genesis 6:5;  Genesis 8:21; 
      Psalm 51:5; Psalm 14:2-3; 
      Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 59:2;
      Isaiah 64:6; 
      Romans 3:9-12; Galatians 3:22; 
      Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 3:3

God’s Solution To This Sin Problem 
Was To Send His Son Jesus Christ 
To Die On The Cross To Pay For Man’s Sins.  
This Now Makes It Possible 
For Any Person To Be Forgiven For Their Sins, 
Reconciled To God, 
And Given Eternal Life ~
     John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8-11; 
     1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 2:21-25

Jesus Suffered For You ~
     Luke 24:46-47; Matthew 27:22-50; Acts 17:2-3

Salvation Comes Only Through Jesus, 
By His Death And Resurrection ~
     Acts 4:10-12; John 14:5-6; 
     John 10:9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 John 2:22-23

People Cannot Save Themselves ~
      Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7; Romans 3:21-28

People Who Reject God’s Offer Of Salvation
Through Jesus Will Leave God No Choice 
But To Judge Them For Their Sins After They Die.  
The Penalty In All Cases Will Be 
Eternal Existence In Torment, 
Separated From God ~
     John 3:36; 2 Peter 3:7-9; 
     Acts 17:30-32; Hebrews 9:27; 
     2 Thessalonians 1:8-9;  Revelation 20:10-15; 
     Luke 13:5; Romans 6:23

To Receive God’s Offer Of Salvation 
Through Jesus And Be Given 
Eternal Life With God, You Must:   

*      Repent ~
       make a decision to turn to God’s 
       only method of Salvation
       by believing in your heart and 
       by faith receiving Jesus as Savior ~
          John 1:12; Romans 10:9-13; 
          John 3:15; John 20:30-31; 
          Acts 10:43; Acts 16:30-31; 1 Timothy 1:15-16

God Is Now Inviting You To Receive 
Jesus In Your Heart ~
         Revelation 3:20

Suggested prayer to receive Jesus as Savior, 
prayed sincerely from the heart:

Lord Jesus, I come to You now confessing that 
I am a sinner in need of Your forgiveness, and 
that I am unable to save myself.  
By faith I believe that You are the Son of God 
and that You died for my sins and rose again.  
I place my trust in Your death as full payment 
for all my sins, 
and I invite You to come into my heart 
to be my personal Savior.    ~ Amen.

After You Receive Jesus As Savior:

 

*    Know that you have been forgiven, that you have become a child of God, and that you have been given eternal life ~
          John 1:12-13; John 5:24; 
          1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 2:12; 
          1 John 5:1; 1 John 5:9-13

*    Know the assurance of your Salvation ~
          John 10:27-30; Romans 4:1-8; 
          Romans 5:1-2; Romans 8:1-2;
          Romans 8:38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 
          Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 2:4-7
          Colossians 1:12-14; Hebrews 13:5-6

*   Pray to God ~
          Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2; 1 John 5:14-15

*   Fellowship with God and with other believers ~
          1 John 1:3-4; Hebrews 10:24-25

*   Hear, read and study God’s Word ~
          Romans 10:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:22

MJF