John 10:5

"Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of a stranger."

 

Bless You my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Most assuredly You have said You are the way, the truth and the life. May I continue to follow after You all my days. You Lord have made certain with guarantee for me and others to have a beautiful spiritual life and the promise of Your word to nourish us with. Over the years You have taught me a great many things for my benefit and growth as I become ever more depended on You for every good thing. This physical trial is no different. The world wishes to distract me, You are still the rock in which I cling. There are not many professions that require the laying down of ones life but just as all shepherds are willing to do for their sheep, You Lord gave up Yours for mine, this wee small lamb. This is a debt I could never repay, and the only gift I can give is to surrender all into Your loving care. At times my ears strain to hear Your voice but thanks be to You God, You have made known to me the sweet sound of it. So even when distraction abound all around me, lures of alternative healing and the inner groan of pain that is desperate for relief, my heart shall listen to Your instruction, heed Your warnings and follow Your steps. May Your glory shine through for all to see and be amazed. May the trumpet make a victorious sound for all to hear. Father, I pray for my sisters and brothers who are being stretched and challenged, may they be strengthened by the inner man to not go astray by listening to other voices, no matter how well meaning. Father Your love is so amazing, captivate the stagnate heart who has lost their way. Scoop up the wounded worrier who may be feeling defeated in battle, blessing them with Your rest. Oh Father make known Your truth to those who have not tasted and seen the goodness of Your ways. One bread and One body. May all honor be Yours the only wise King, who was and is and is to come. I love You Lord, bless You for Your mercy and grace that endue for ever. In the name of Jesus I pray and adore. Amen.

Matthew 17:8

When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

Dear Jesus,
I only have eyes for You, dear. Many Lord say "Look here!" while others say "Look there!"  All the while causing much distraction to take our sight off You. Thank You Lord for opening my eyes to see Your incredible beauty. Your are marvelous and robe in white. What an amazing vision Lord, You must have been when You led Peter, James and John up the high mountain and transfigured before them. Your face shone like the sun and Your clothing became as white as light. MAGNIFICENT!! Yesterday, today and forever You are the great I Am, forever the same. Brilliant in every way including gentleness. You touch us and tell us not to be afraid. The just shall live by faith, and worship You in spirit and in truth. God our Father has spoken over You Jesus, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear, Him!" O Lord that I should hear Your still small voice during prayer, lifting my eyes only to see You, my King. I pray Lord for Your Holy Spirit to have His way in me. Surrendering my will into Your loving hands to be used for Your glory. To touch others lives telling them to not be afraid, He lives! Jesus Christ the Lord lives! Hallelujah! May You Lord be born in the lives of others who are lost, walking in darkness. May they fix their eyes on the hills, for whence comes our help? Trusting and knowing our help comes from You Lord, maker of heaven and earth. You Lord will not allow our foot to be moved. Thank You Jesus for lighting up my life, so there is no darkness to be scared of. I love You. In Your sweet name Jesus I pray, Amen.

Matthew 17:1-10, Luke 17:23, and Psalm 121:1-2 

Psalm 65:11

You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

Praise is awaiting You, O God. O You Lord who hear our prayers. To You Lord Jesus may all flesh come. Though I have transgressed, You have provide atonement for me and others. Blessed are the men and women You have chosen and caused to approach You. O that we shall dwell in Your courts, and be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holy temple. Thank You Lord for by Your awesome deeds in righteousness You answer us. You are the God of our salvation. The confidence of all the ends of the earth, and far off seas. You have established the mountains by Your strength, clothed in power. How great thou are that You still the noise of the waves. Even those who dwell in the farthest parts see Your signs. How marvelous that You Lord make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. You Lord visit the earth and water it. You are the one who greatly enriches it. I marvel at the rivers of You God that are filled with abundance of peace, love and joy. You Lord Jesus are our hope. Jesus, You are the living water that waters the ridges in our lives abundantly, and settles the furrows in our hearts making them soft with Your showers of mercy and grace. Thank You Lord for blessing us to grow. You tenderly drop goodwill on the pastures of our wildernesses. So we may rejoice on every side. Bless You Lord, You are the crown of goodness for this new year. May we worship and adore You with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength. Thank You for ever good and perfect gift You have given to me and to my brothers and sisters. With all my heart I love You. All glory, power and honor is Yours forever. In Your precious and holy name, Jesus, Amen.

Psalm 65 

Hosea 2:19

"I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me. In righteousness and justice, in loving kindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord."

Dear Heavenly Father,
When I read this loving passage, this song runs through my heart. Going to the chapel, going to get married... You have said to no longer call You master, but that I shall call You my Husband. Through Your loving sacrifice on the cross, and the repenting of my sin You have betroth me forever. Oh, the image of my blessed Savior taking the hand of this sinner to be Your beloved bride. You have blessed me through the years giving me grain, wine and oil. You multiplied my silver and gold which I offered up to false gods and sacrificed them to idols of materialism, gods of athletics, and the spirit of gluttony. Bless You Lord for Your loving kindness that allured me and comforted me in the wilderness of my emptiness. You have used my valley of trouble as a door for me to pass through. Returning to singing as in the days of my youth. You have taken me from the land of bondage, removed from my mouth the names of wicked masters. Bless You Lord Jesus for the gift. Lord during this Christmas season I've been thinking on the wise men as they followed the star, to where it rested over Your amazing and miraculous birth and I desire to do as they did. As I gaze upon Your truth may I not return to that from which I came. Praising and rejoicing for Emmanuel is with me. I love You Lord Jesus. In You holy name I pray, Amen.

Luke 6:31

And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

Dear Heavenly Father,
In the third book of Moses, Leviticus says; We should not hate our brother in our hearts. We shall surely rebuke our neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. We should not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of our people, but we should love our neighbors as ourselves, for You are the Lord. Father at this very special time of year, when we recall the gift of Your Only Son, instead of joy and peace in the hearts of those around me, I sense tension and discouragement. Anxieties, expectations and exhaustion abound. If only we would stop for a moment and recall Jesus' simple words that are truth, how much better we would be. What a beautiful Christmas gift to take off the pressure to preform, provide and participate in an endless amount of so-called celebration. I have to wonder Lord where we left You in all of this. Are You creatively wrapped and under the tree. Have we strung You along the length, width and depth of the exterior of our homes. Or perhaps You are crammed in a shopping bag with many other things we treasure. Forgive us Lord, we have strayed from You. We have turned to idols and forgotten You. Father as I ponder these words from Luke, I desire for my heart be open and love as I want to be loved. Father, I pray that I would remember to give, care and serve as Your precious and wonderful Son Jesus did. May I speak kind words to the exhausted cashier at the shopping mall. Give a small bag of cookies to the man ringing the bell outside the market. A cup of hot cocoa to the frozen gas station attendant to warm his body and soul. May my hands be willing to help an elder man to his car, my lips smile and laugh with a woman in a wheelchair over silliness. Send an unexpected note of love to a dear friend. Give a tender embrace to a grieving grandmother whose heart is broken over the loss of her only grandchild. Leaving the cares and demands of the world behind to focus fully on You, the reason for the season.  May it last the whole year through. Jesus may my little light shine for You, the love of my life.  In Your name I pray, Amen.

2 Corinthians 12:10

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

Dear Heavenly Father, 
My hope Lord is to bless You at all times. May praises continually be in my mouth. Oh that my soul shall make boast of You my Lord. I pray that the humble should hear of it and be glad. Lord thank You for the many times You have been merciful and gracious to me and for the time I hadn't notice. I believe You will strengthen me on my bed of illness, and sustain me on my sickbed. Lord Jesus I believe You have overcome all things, You are the great I AM. I wait for Your glorious return, but until then I will give thanks in this chronic illness. For You have revealed Yourself in so many amazing ways. Your grace is more than sufficient for me. I pray that Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. How blessed I am to have loving friends and family to pray precious prayers to You on my behalf. How blessed I am that You meet all my physical, emotion and mental needs. With awestruck wonder I marvel at Your greatness. Jesus You are teaching me so many things through this infirmity, I couldn't have chosen a better way to have my faith, hope and trust in You deepen. Yes, like Paul had said, I take pleasure in this, and I know full well it must sound strange to others, but You are so near to me. There is nothing more I desire than to have more of You and less of me. Lord I will gladly boast in my sickness because I know You are resting upon me. I thank You Lord Jesus for Your loving kindness, it surprises every day. Some would say it is a thorn in my flesh, but the thorniest of roses bring the most beautiful of blooms. Thank You Lord for comforting me when weak and dancing with me when the symptoms subside. I love You Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind and strength even if it is movement ever so slow. Amen.
  
Psalm 34:1&2, Psalm 41:3, 2 Corinthians 12:7-12

Song of Solomon 3:5

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Bless You that the rich and the poor have something in common, You Father created them all. You have taught us, no matter if we are living in poverty or plenty, we are to train up our children in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it. May we remember and pass along through the generations that to everything there is a season. You have given a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to weep and a time to laugh. There is also a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. You Lord Jesus make everything beautiful in its time. You Lord have also put eternity in our hearts. I pray for all to know nothing is better than to rejoice, and do good in our lives. That we should eat and drink and enjoy the good of our labor because it a gift from You. I pray Lord for the young, the single, widow or widower may they not even go pass the tempters door. But by Your Spirit may they pay attention to Your wisdom. Grant them ears to understand. For the lips of the immoral drip with honey, and their mouths are smoother than oil. Oh but in the end they are as bitter as wormwood. Father I pray for Your precious children, male and female alike not to grow wanton, lusting with their eyes, and weakening to fulfill the desires of their flesh. But may they be examples of Your truth in word, in love, in spirit, in faith, and purity. May they not envy sinners, but be zealous for You Lord all their days. May they chose a good name and reputation over great riches, loving Your favor rather than silver and gold. Oh Father that they shall not awaken or stir up love until its time. In Your beautiful, holy and precious name Jesus, Amen.

Proverbs 22:2,6,1, Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4-5 & 11-12,  Proverbs 23:17, Proverbs 5:1-4, 1 Timothy 4:12