Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Day 5 The Fellowship of the Unashamed: A Poem and Prayer for the New Year and A New Beginning

GOOD MORNING, LORD: A PRAYER

Good morning, Lord.

You are the Almighty One. You are Love. You are the God of Hope and New Beginnings. Help me make this new year count and help me make this month, week, and day count as well. I want to bring You glory in all I do.

Thank You for yesterday and all of its blessings and I thank You in advance for all of the blessings You have planned for me today.

Please guide me and help me to stay on the path You have planned for me this day.

You are my God and I praise You.

A POEM AND PRAYER I RECEIVED YEARS AGO: CONVICTION

It was almost twenty years ago I received a poem and prayer I try to look at frequently. But, I must admit, it has not been frequently enough. It’s quite convicting and reminds me of how I need to take my faith a great deal more seriously than I do and how I need to not be silent and appease people. It reminds me how God wants me to stand for my convictions.

The reason why I am sharing it with you is because it’s a wake-up call to us and is a call of conviction in which we base our next year. Let this be the inspiration we need for the next year. May it remind us how to live.

Poem: The Fellowship of the Unashamed

(Sources: http://www.gospeltruth.net/unashamed.htm and http://www.wacmm.org/Fellowship-of-the-Unashamed.html)

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."

The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.

The decision has been made. I am a disciple of

Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down,

back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present

makes sense, and my future is secure.

I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,

small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,

chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,

promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by

presence, lean by faith, love by patience,

lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace

is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my

road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,

my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,

compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,

diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the

presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,

ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander

in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until

Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,

and work until He comes. And when He comes to get

His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.

My colors will be clear.

I am not ashamed of the gospel . . . Romans 1:16

{The Author of this work is in dispute and is unclear. Some say it’s Anonymous, others claim it is by Dr. Bob Moorehead. Others claim it cannot be Dr. Bob Moorehead. Therefore, the author of this is not known.}

Philippians 3:7-11 NASB

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

What are your thoughts?

What does this mean to you?

Have you been successful this past year living in this manner? How about in the last few years? Ever?

How can this inspire you to live the next year?

How can this inspire you to live your life?

What did you say to God?

What did God say to you?

Write your own prayer about this.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013