We begin our prayer time in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. + Amen.
“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” Martin Luther
Psalm 19:14; “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
‘Adoration’
Luke 2:8-20 KJV; “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”
Reading these verses from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the King James Version brings back so many “back in the day” memories when everything in this fallen world seemed to be more peace filled and calm. Back in my childhood days, in the early 50’s, the quiet drive to our farm from the Christmas Eve service at Seward High School gymnasium with my family, listening to the tires squeak in the fresh snow-covered dirt road on a cold Nebraska night; there was a simple Hope in our lives. We didn’t have the worries of today, and wouldn’t have believed that this fallen world could have taken such a horrible direction away from the Christ child. Today. please try to imagine in the still and quiet darkness of our fragile, troubled and torn world; just how much joy that host of angels had as they proclaimed loudly “Glory to God in the highest and on earth…peace and good will toward men” would bring to our ears today. This month, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came down to earth, from Heaven, and was born in a humble shelter to a young virgin Mary and after walking in this world for a few decades, He gave up His life for us. GRACE lived among us. The Son of God and son of Man came to save us.
Romans 15:12-13; “Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE." Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
A time of ‘Adoration’ to our Heavenly Father.
· Please take time to sit and consider how our Triune God comes to us through His ‘WORD’ every single day and how much He has impacted your life.
· Consider that the Son of God came down from Heaven to dwell among us. Leaving His place in Heaven to be born in a stable in the wilderness to humble parents surrounded by farm animals, shepherds and stillness.
· Give thanks for where God has placed you and the gifts that you were given to use for Him along your journey.
‘Confession’
Luke 11:28:30 “He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”
We were born, sinful and unclean, through no fault of our own, but because of the sins of our parents, grandparents…Adam and Eve.
God sent His only Son to die for our sins. Jesus did everything right while he was here on this earth. He loved you with a love that cannot be measured. He gave to the world when no thanks were returned to Him. He healed when there was no hope, and He died without complaint. Jesus did nothing wrong and everything right; all this for you. He lived for you and died for you. Our sins nailed Him to the cross on Calvary and kept Him there until His life on earth had ended.
Psalm 32:1-7; “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”
· A time of personal confession.
Our sins are placed at the base of the cross...His cross, and we give thanks that the times we have fallen short in the eyes of our Heavenly Father have been washed clean and we have been forgiven through the Blood of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.
‘Thanksgiving’
Please join me for a moment, to just stop everything and consider that word ‘thanksgiving’. Today, as this fallen world of ours spins in what seems to be a reckless whirl away from our Heavenly Father; let us begin to give thanks this Christmas? We have a choice to give thanks for the way our sin filled world and pride filled culture give thanks for ‘stuff’ we don’t need OR give thanks for the way our Heavenly Father gave us the gift of Everlasting LIFE through His Son Jesus. We have a choice which is a higher priority. So great are the blessings that our Heavenly Father has poured into our lives and continues to daily shower upon us.
Psalm 107:1-3; “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story; those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.”
Winter here at my desk in Central Illinois is not a problem today because I am sitting here in a warm, safe and comfortable house with clean water in the room next to me, electricity and WIFI plugged into my PC and in the kitchen, the cupboards and fridge are filled with food; and Alexa is playing Southern Gospel Christmas music. I cannot begin to count the number of friends and families living in Haiti who have none of these blessings that I have every day. Too often, this month in our country, is filled with lists of what we want or think that we really need when in fact we should really be giving thanks for what we have and what was given to us without us asking. At the top of our list should be giving thanks for God giving us His Son Jesus who came down from Heaven to become a baby boy, born is a stable in the stillness of the night, a gift to humble parents. This Christ child came to rescue us from our sinfulness and prepare for us a place in Heaven. He came down for all man-kind.
Isaiah 9:6-7; “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
We come to You now with hearts, minds and words filled with ‘Thanksgiving’.”
· We give thanks for our Creator, Redeemer and Holy Spirit.
· We give thanks for having a Savior.
· We give thanks for our providence; monetary, food, clothing and shelter. As we give of our first fruits may we also give a portion of our best to His children who need the assistance we can provide.
· We give You thanks for the Haitian children who are not only the prime purpose of Trinity HOPE but also Your missionaries for the future generations in Haiti who bring the true message of Christmas to lives who have never known the reason for our Hope.
· We give You thanks for the work that is being accomplished by the Haitian parents, teachers, school principals and Feeding Program Directors during turbulent times in their country today.
· Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for the progress that has been made this year to defeat the violent gangs that are beginning to lose their grip over areas of Haiti.
‘Supplications’
Today, during the last month of this year, there can’t be any people living in Haiti who have NOT been affected by the political turmoil and violent gangs that have spread throughout their country. Few of us living in the U.S. have ever experienced the many challenges that our brothers and sisters living in Haiti are facing now. How can we help? It is time we need to get down on our knees with our brothers and sisters in Haiti and through prayers, turn all of these challenges over to our Triune God. We implore Him to intercede for His faithful remnant and sweep out the violent gangs and bring peace where there is none and establish a wise and honest government led by God-fearing leaders to dedicate Haiti to Jesus Christ and begin a new year filled with a Hope that Haiti has never experienced.
Acts 20:35; “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Heavenly Father, we bring our supplications before You;
· Heavenly Father, continue to lead and bless Trinity HOPE with Your strong hand; may we always strive to accomplish Your will.
· Bless the Trinity HOPE workers here in the U.S. and in Haiti. Give them courage as they face challenges from the evil foe. Provide them with courage, endurance and love.
· Lord, please bring a miracle of HOPE to the country of Haiti. Turn the evil deeds from violent gangs into solutions that bring Glory to You. May everyone in Haiti see and experience Your hand at work and acknowledge Your sovereignty in this fallen world.
Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You sent it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:11-14; “Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” Martin Luther
May God go before you to guide you; may His arms be beneath you to support you, around you to protect you and above you to bless you. And may the blessings of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you today and always dear sister and brother in Christ,
In His love, have a Blessed Christmas.
Jay Brinkmeyer