Meet Jesus: Led of the Spirit Matthew 4:1

March 25, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 4: 1: Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Interesting that Jesus, the Son of God, would be led by His own Spirit. A man’s spirit is an incredibly powerful guiding force. When we meet with Jesus, we meet with His Holy Spirit. His Spirit becomes available to us to lead us and guide us. His Spirit communes with our spirit to build us in the right direction.

The consistency of those led of the Spirit is born of the Spirit, Himself. So often we can encounter like-hearted men and women, who seem to be thinking the same thoughts at the same time we do. They are. It is a connection born of God. He brings us to the same place to make life move forward in His plan more rapidly.

A friend asked for prayer for Godly relationships and connections. That strengthened me. He has been struggling to step away from those that want him to go out and party and dance like he did before he met Christ. He wants good, God connections. That is an easy prayer for me. To ask God to connect us with the right people is to ask God to be God. His Spirit yearns to connect us that way.

ACT! God is Spirit. The separating force in us that distinguishes us from animals is our spirit created in His image. Think on that for a minute. Write down five aspects of you as a human that separates you from other forms of life. Note that they are spiritual in nature.

PRAY! Father, let Your Holy Spirit of Jesus instruct me in the way I should go. You showed me in Jesus that it is Your Holy Spirit that can guide me even in the hard times. You showed me that it is Your Holy Spirit that will even ask me to do what I am unable to do without Him. Keep me connected.

Meet Jesus : Pleasing God Matthew 3:17

March 22, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

When we connect with Jesus we connect with pleasing God. Jesus pleases the Father. When we are with Him, we are pleasing the Father. That is important. So often in life, we want to please our Father. When you meet with Jesus, you are in the environment of pleasing Him. You can’t miss pleasing Him.

Pleasing God may mean doing tough work. While working through some conflict mediation, we came to the point of closing in prayer. It had been a tough night. Everyone had spent emotional energy to embrace peace. It was the right thing to do. It is greatly pleasing to God to do everything that leads to peace and building each other. That does not make it easy. But it is pleasing. The scripture came to mind as we prayed from Zephaniah 3. God joys over us with singing. That word joy means to jump up and dance and pirouette. What a picture of God singing and jumping and spinning over us with joy! Doing the hard thing is pleasing to Him.

ACT! Take one item you are unsure about in your relationship with God. Examine it. Is Jesus involved in it? If you were doing it or being involved in it would you invite Jesus to be a part?

PRAY! Father, help me to please You. Help me to meet with Jesus when I plan an activity. I can always be sure it will be pleasing to You when I meet with Him to do it. Help me keep that focus, Father.

Meet Jesus: Humility Matthew 3:13

March 21, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3: 13: Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

Here is the Son of God, God in the flesh, submitting Himself to the gift and calling of another. In most of our world, this is almost unthinkable. The Master goes to the servant to be enabled for ministry. It is so backward to our ego mindset that it almost hurts. When you meet with Jesus, you will be asked to find Him in others and lay down ego.

There is nothing like being misunderstood to humble us. Reading through a memo written by another staffer, I started to get upset. It was evident that he really did not understand the conversation the day before. How could he so misunderstand me? Before I did something stupid, I opened the memo that had been sent by me after the conversation. Taking a slow and deliberate look, it was easy to see how he was interpreting as my meaning. He was simply walking out his understanding. Humbled, I deleted my first response and crafted one more suitable and understanding to correct the confusion.

ACT! Think of a friend who has a gift you need. Get with them and let them pray for you.

PRAY! Whoops! Father sometimes I miss it and mess it. Sometimes You have sent Jesus to me in a wrapper that I did not receive. Sometimes the unlikely has had the incredible for my life. Help me find the some-times and receive from the gift of others in Him.

If we can pray for you regarding anything in your life, please let us know. Our greatest blessing is to bless others in prayer. www.prayermetro.com Phil

Meet Jesus: Fire Baptizer Matthew 3:11

March 21, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3:11: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Be ready for change when you meet Jesus. John gets us focused in our preparation. Meeting Jesus can make you different from the inside out. He brings the Holy Spirit and fire to pour over you and change you. Think of it this way. It is like having chemical fire on the inside (the Holy Spirit) and liquid fire on the outside. However, the real you is strengthened not burned. The stuff that is between you and Him will be cleansed.

Conflict is one of those baptizers in the Holy Spirit. We want to avoid it, yet it is the right thing. God used conflict to cause us to dig deeper into understanding of relationships and life. The deeper we dig, the stronger we become. In talking to a leader, it struck me to provoke him that leaders love resolving conflict. They don’t love the conflict or the anger and frustration that may accompany it. They do love the process of resolution and the end result. Through conflict we are baptized in Holy Spirit fire. He strengthens our resolve and our ability to move ahead. He causes us to face hard items that need to be removed. It is one way He baptizes us with fire.

ACT! Pick an item that needs to be burned away in your life. Put it in front of Him for handling.

PRAY! Father, I am not afraid of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire. I await continually meeting with Jesus to be continually cleansed. Let Your faithful and just character enter into my life as I confess my sin before You. Forgive me and cleanse me from all ways that are unlike You.

If we can pray for you regarding anything in your life, please let us know. Our greatest blessing is to bless others in prayer. www.prayermetro.com Phil

Meet Jesus: Escape From Trouble Matthew 2:13

March 18, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 2:13: And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14: When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

When trouble arises, Jesus is an escape artist. He is totally able to get us to a place of escape and safety. That’s necessary sometimes. Sometimes facing the issue won’t help. Sometimes trying to bring the trouble under rule won’t help. Sometimes we need a place of escape. Sometimes we need Jesus to take us to a place to let trouble blow over. Then we can go back.

ACT! Trouble comes in many forms. Do you need escape from one form or another? Take time to listen to God. Where is Egypt for your trouble? Where can you wait it out until it passes?

PRAY! Father, troubles surround us every day. You know all my troubles. You know the ones I can face and conquer. You know the ones I can give over to the governance of Jesus. You know the ones that need a place of escape. Show me the difference. Guide me.

Meet Jesus: Simple Governor Matthew 2:6

March 15, 2013 by Phil Larson

Meet Jesus: Simple Governor

Matthew 2:6: And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Life deals us situations that need governance beyond our human capabilities. While they may be simple situations, they nonetheless need a Governor, who can rule and reign over them. Tough stuff gets out of control and needs to be brought back. Thoughts, emotions, actions, mindsets, addictions can get out of hand in us. Jesus is a Governor, who can help us get rule over them.

ACT! Think of a tough situation that needs governing in your life. How did it get there? Can it be that someone who can rule over it can solve it? Let Him start on it.

PRAY! Holy Father, You know the areas of life that are out of control for me. You provided Jesus to be a Governor. He came from a simple place to apply simple principles in my life. I give You my out of control life in need of a Governor. Embrace me in Your peace and solution.

Meet Jesus: Named Matthew 1:21

March 13, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1:21: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

The savior, what a name! Jesus’ very name means savior. His name is His destiny. He saved and saves. He saves from sin. He saves us from our mistakes. He saves us from whatever is our situation.

Being saved from sin means being rescued. Jesus is our rescuer. He moves in and brings us to a safe place, a place of conquest over sin, and a place of victory over mistakes.

ACT! Get honest. Take your mistakes and hand them over for salvation. Let Jesus rescue you to a place of victorious living.

PRAY! Father of Forgiveness, give me victory over my sin. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, my Strength and my Redeemer.

Meet Jesus: God With Us Matthew 1:23

March 10, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1:23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

For us today, what greater part of Jesus could there be? He is God with us. Later in one of his letters, Paul, tells us He is the fulness of the Godhead in bodily form. Then Paul tells us in Jesus we are complete. He is God. He is God with us. He is all that God is, living inside of us, who have believed and received.

ACT! Eliminate doubt. It is an incredible thought that God could be readily available and actually living inside of my circumstances. Talk yourself into believing that. Read the above verse outload to yourself about ten times.

PRAY! Wow, Father! This is too much. When I think of the goodness and mercy that You dispense in this single sentence, I am awed. Thank You for coming to live in me. Thank You for coming to stay with me every moment of the day. Thank You for being the God that You are in my daily living.

Connect with more: www.CommunityTransformationInitiative.com

Meet Jesus: Interventionist Matthew 1:20

March 9, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1:20: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Meeting Jesus means submitting to God’s intervention. He is not interested in your failing. He is not interested in your making the wrong decision. He will intervene. Though Joseph had a good plan for protecting Mary, God had a great plan for placing Joseph in the key position of caretaker and raiser of His son.

Joseph took time to contemplate, and God intervened. Being around Jesus is like that. God wants to help the situation turn out for good.

ACT! Let God intervene in your situation. Lay it out. Contemplate. Think about where He might step in and act.

PRAY! You, Father, are full of power. I open my situation to Your intervention. Take a step in, Father of Jesus, and make my life different.

Meet Jesus- Son of David, Son of Abraham Matt. 1:1

March 8, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham

Meeting Jesus means meeting the final, eternal King of Life. Jesus is the son of David, the favored king of Israel. David received the promise of a kingdom without end. Jesus is the last king in the line. Jesus is the king that never loses the throne.
Meeting Jesus starts with embracing faith. Faith gives substance to life. Faith brings to reality our dreams. Jesus is the son of Abraham, the father of faith. No more important aspect could begin a journey with Him.

ACT! Get busy turning over a dream to Jesus. Take hold of the faith of Abraham and submit the request to the King of Kings.

PRAY! Holy Father, Jesus gave me the heritage of David and Abraham. Jesus gave me connection to great faith and authority. I submit my dreams to His ability to see it come to pass.