He Will Strengthen You

I’ve spoken with several people recently who are struggling. Part of the struggle is coming from striving in their own effort.

For years I thought it best to serve and never ask for help. This often led to pride and struggle.

When we call out to God through prayer, He hears us and answers according to His perfect will.

Though we may not like the answer, He is concerned with making us bold with strength in our soul.

If you’re struggling, call out to Him today. Expect, in faith, that He will strengthen your soul with boldness.

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#mpwarrior

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#hewillstrengthenyou

Our Work

The shepherds chose to trust in God’s provision and went to see the thing that was told to them (Luke 2:15)

Then end result, they went back, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

The same is true today when we go to the cross, hear, and see the mighty work Jesus has done there. Our trust in His provision ultimately results in praise and glory to God.

Our lives become living sacrifices(Romans 12:2) as we carry out our mission(Matthew 28:18-20) for the sake of the Gospel.

Some of our brothers and sisters around the give the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

Today, let us remember them and lift them in prayer and do the good work God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) right where we are.

#MPWarrior

#PrayForGodsFamily

#DoTheWorkGodPreparedForYou

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He is the very God whose words spoke all into being-from the vastness of the universe to the complexity of the human eye.

He is the One who knit me in my mother’s womb, crafting every hair in my head and He remembers each one.

He is the One who passionately pursued me when my heart desired the many pleasures of this world.

He was the One who gave His Son who emptied Himself at the cross paying the price for my sin with His precious blood.

And yet my flesh wants what it wants. Even in the midst of His many blessings, it seeks to bend Him to my will instead of bending me to His as I pray.

For we need Him to continuously remind us of His great love and teach us to surrender completely to Him. For when we commit our way to Him, and trust Him, He will do it. Our relationship with Our Heavenly Father is not about us launching requests for Him to project manage and solve. It is about us drawing close to Him, committing all of ourselves to Him and seeing the beauty of His work in and through us for His glory.

If we truly want to see powerful prayer, we must surrender completely to His will and way.

Reflection

In what ways have you been going on your way with life without surrendering completely to God?

Repent and ask for forgiveness for these and commit your way to the Lord’s mission (Matt. 28:16-20)

Delight yourself in His ways and plan!

Prayer

Father you are our LORD and Our Trust. Help us completely surrender to You and Your mission. Help us to see Your power. Bend and comfort Our will to Yours that we may draw close to You and live in Your powerful presence. Let us not hurl requests at you according to our will, but instead in alignment with You pray in accordance to Your will and see the abundance of Your answers in Jesus, Amen!

When we petition our Heavenly Father, not only should we wait for an answer, but we should eagerly watch for His answer. I believe too many times we think prayers go unanswered simply because we are not eagerly watching and miss His answer.

Reflection

One of the best ways to see God in action answering prayers is to keep a journal. It doesn’t need to be fancy. A $.99 notebook will do. Get in the habit of recording your prayers and details of the day before you go to bed. Review the prayers from the day/week before and reflect as you record the day’s log of events. Answer the question, “How has the LORD answered me today?” At the end of your entry.

Prayer

Father, teach us to watch eagerly for Your answers. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear that we may exalt Your name with our praises. Amen!

Not only is He a mighty warrior but an amazing loving Father. Read Zeph 3:17 again.

“The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭NASB‬ http://bible.com/100/zep.3.17.nasb
4 ‭things stand out to show His love for His people:

He is with us

He is not a Set it and forget it kind of God.  We weren’t created and then watched from the heavens and we are not pawns in His game as the Clash of the Titans movie might suggest. He is a personal God who desires to dwell “with us”. For He has promised never to leave or forsake us  and that He will be with us till the end of the age.   He is certainly in our midst!

He exults over us

The text says He exults over us with joy. The verse cross referenced in Isaiah 62:5 where it speaks of how a groom rejoices over his bride.  They way he looks at her knowing that the love of his life is now joined to him and they are one. 

He renews us

“He will be quiet in His love” in some older manuscripts was “He renews you in His love”. I love the thought of how His love renews us as we enjoy His presence!

He rejoiced over us

Not only is He loving and gracious, but He actually rejoices over us with shouts of joy.  When He looks at us He shouts joyously!   What greater testimony can there be to the power and love that was demonstrated at the cross.  The power to crush sin and restore us to the Father so much so that He sees us as righteous and is so pleased that shouts of joy are uttered over us!

Reflection

When was the last time you meditated on the power God has as a mighty and victorious warrior?

When was the last time you pondered the great love with which our Father in heaven loves you?

Spend some time in prayer thanking God for who He is, both a powerful, victorious warrior and a compassionate loving Father.  

Prayer

Father, you own the universe and all that is in it. For you are greater than all you have created.  You command the many galaxies and the micro world as well.  Teach us to rest in Your victory and walk in faith.  Renew us in Your love and let us hear Your shouts of joy that we may confidently know the depths of Your power and love and be encouraged to walk in the good works You prepared in advance for us to walk in.  We pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen!

Paul, in His letter to the Ephesians, rightly concluded there is something that surpasses knowledge and it is outside of his control.  That something is the love of Christ.  Earnestly he prays on his knees:

“that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, 

being rooted and grounded in love, 

may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, 

that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” ~ Ephesians 3:16-19
‭‭Paul knows it is the power of the Spirit that reminds us of our adoption, brings all things into remembrance, and strengthens our inner man.  Paul’s and our words cannot force the Spirit upon someone. It is only when God “grants” this and such is the reason for his earnest prayer for the Ephesians. 

So Paul’s progressive prayers builds up into the love of Christ. Why do I say progressive?  The chapter is filled with “So that…” and “may be…”.  It signifies God’s organized plan and the power of God’s work unleashed in His children.   Check out the steps:

• God grants strength in inner man
• Christ dwells in our hearts
• We are rooted and grounded in love
• Comprehend and know the love of Christ
• Filled up to the fullness of God

Clearly the answer to our problem is to deeply understanding and experiencing the love of Christ. So how does this help us overcome sin? Grasping how much God loves us, would cause us to lose our desire for anything that damages our relationship with Him and His children. 

Love changes our patterns of thinking, our affections and our motivations.  Love has the power to overcome where our performance falls short.  It brings freedom from worry over those we love who do not know the Lord and opens our eyes to see His power in action.  Ultimately is results in being “filled up to the fullness of God”.  That’s what I desire!

Reflection

Where have you been trying to force the gospel and not trust that God will grant an understanding “according to The riches of His glory”?  
Action

Confess any sin and distrust of God and surrender to Him.  Begin praying earnestly for those around you that:

• God grants strength in his/her inner man
• Christ dwells in his/her heart
• He/she is rooted and grounded in love
• He/she would Comprehend and know the love of Christ
• He/she Filled up to the fullness of God

Watch for God’s power to be unleashed. May God bless you deeply with knowing the love of Christ!

@brianfriedl

#truthtalk4life #knowlivespeaktruthinlove #theloveofGodsurpassesknowledge

Let’s face it, there are days where you feel like life is about to swallow you up.  No matter how positive you try to make your attitude, every attempt seems to be met with failure.  You might even feel like things are better for a moment and then reality strikes. 

David was no stranger to this feeling.  He could have justified how he didn’t deserve the Saul’s unrelenting plots to kill him. Afterall, he was the rightful king chosen and anointed by God to rule over God’s people. Instead, he cried out to God. He placed his trust in His Father in heaven to come to his rescue. 

What are you facing today?  Chronic pain? Enemies that are giants? Emotional distress?  Cry out to God. Our Father in heaven will hear your cry and will answer you just as He answered David. He is faithful to walk with you in fire and in rain.  You will not be overtaken nor overcome!

#truthtalk4life #knowlivespeaktruthinlove

@brianfriedlf

Examining some compononents of dealing with pain can be a helpful in preparing us to be ready. At some point we will all experience pain. 

Trials are always revealing our character.  We can hold it together for quite some time in our own strength but when there is prolonged pain our true self makes it way to the surface.  Rather than “manning up”, I’m going to keep my strength grounded completely in Christ this time.  

Temptation to numb the pain is incredibly appealing during times of prolonged pain.  There is really only on thing that will truly comfort and that is God in all three persons.  Every other substitute is like a drug that promises comfort but comes with a long list of side effects. 

We must not waver or justify “comforters” other than Christ.  There are many great tools that can and should be used, but make sure your affections are rightly placed on thanking the One who is responsible for the provision of those tools. 

Prayer is powerful weapon in times of trial and We are not alone in wielding it.  Look in Romans 8:26

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” 

The Spirit intercedes on our behalf.  Remember, we are never alone in the trial!   We also find that not only the Spirit but also The Son intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:34)

who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

He intercedes in regard to our salvation and continues to do so; making us inseparable from His overflowing love.  

And what familiar passage is sandwiched between these two wonderful truths?  None other than Romans 8:28

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

So is the pain present? YES, strong as ever, but not as strong as my God who is at work in me.  Some good will come of this pain.  I will be lifted by the intercessions of the Spirit and the Son.  He will be my comforter, my shield and my refuge!

#truthtalk4life #knowlicespeaktruthinlove

@brianfriedl

I thoroughly enjoy food. I pretty much eat whenever I want to. Healthy stuff, but often.  As a matter of fact I have coined the phrase,”I don’t like to eat on an empty stomach” to justify snacking (make sure your metabolism is high if you go this route).  My favorite meal of the day is breakfast so that is where I decided to start; fasting breakfast for one week.  What follows are my observations of this event.

While fasting is not commanded in the Bible, it appears to have been expected as part of regular activity as Jesus said to His disciples, “When you fast…”  I can honestly say I would recommend it to anyone interested in seeking God’s presence and guidance.  Note: you know you’re body and its health best.  You make your best choices for you.  fasting is normally to be done privately but I wanted to share the benefits and encourage you. This may be my last post in fasting because the rest will be private.  

I was hungry on day 1. My mind continually thought about food.  After preparing breakfast for 10 of our children I went in my office and prayed specifically for my family, friends, and breakthroughs for those held in chains of sin, and those imprisoned for their faith.  I could still smell the food and it was trying to distract my prayer time

Day 2 seemed a little easier.  My mind diligently desired to hold to this fast believing that it would be effective for the LORD not in my strength but His. 

By Day 3, I began to notice my clarity of life, my mission, the vision for our family and many other things had intensified. I no longer was thinking about food when I woke up, but how sweet the time of worship and prayer would be. 

On to Day 4.  I distinctly remember my patience being like iron as I had some children really trying to test me :).  I was committed to the vision for our family and was unwavering; even more patient than normal. 

Day 5 – Thoughts of just having an “early lunch” we’re trying to creep in as I smelled the sausage cooking.  My daughter who is an amazing cook was at the helm so I went outside to pray.  Every prayer time was more blessed than the day before. 

For Day 6 I had the wonderful blessing of finishing water removal from our basement.  Normally I would have been tempted to complain, but that line of thinking was far from me.  I was so thankful for everything God has done for us.  The task was finished swiftly and without complaint. 

Day 7 was yesterday; filled with the smells of breakfast delights and yet I knew what waited for me in my office was even more sweet!   

Some quick observations:  

1) I found that my attachment to food was greater than I knew.  Denying myself even just one meal revealed this truth as well as how much more satisfying God is than food. 

2) My prayer times were more focused and intense. Often times my eyes filled with tears of sorrow or joy. 

3) Fasting removed distraction so I could hear guidance from God for our family, ministry, and business.  

4) fasting help direct my need to draw even closer to my Heavenly Father. 

5) I prayed specifically for breakthroughs for some individuals and that remains to be seen what God will do. 

Personal Reflection

What is it that would be the hardest thing for you to give up?  Have you considered fasting that for a week?  If not give it a try and comment on here the results.  I’d love to hear how it’s impacted you and your relationship with God and man. 

Prayer Focus

Father, thank You for Your presence with us.  You are all we need to be satisfied and yet You give abundantly beyond!  Our lips are filled with Your praises.  For You have brought us out of darkness and into the Light of Your Son Jesus.  We have new life! As we seek to deny ourselves , take up our cross and follow, be the strength in our bones and the breath in our lungs to intercede on behalf of those around us.  May we shepherd well for You and for Your glory in Jesus Name, Amen!

#truthtalk4life

@brianfriedl

 I did everything to avoid the confrontation.  I tried to get there early and even left a door open and walked outside around the entire school with no success. 

A couple of years ago I friended one of these bullies on Facebook. My plan was to see how his life turned out.  What I found was that his life was hard.  Rather than celebrating, my heart was led to compassion by the LORD.  I reached out and offered to pray for him. 

He responded with gratitude and commented that he has been reading my blog posts and to keep writing because it encouraged him.   So what did I learn?  Love is what breaks open a hardened heart that it may be set free and be restored.  When we seek revenge we miss and opportunity to love another into the kingdom. 

Personal Reflection

Who is your #1 enemy?  Who causes you more strife and takes you to the edge, or just plain annoys you like crazy?   Have you tried to change them?   How about trying to love them?

 I challenge you to love them for a day.  Take notes, in a journal, their response.  If you survive, love them for a week. Again, journal the results.  Now try a month.  At the end of the month, compare their responses in your journal between day 1 and day 31.  Has their heart broken open yet?  If not repeat this process as many times as necessary.  It’s now your mission!

Prayer Focus

Father, no greater love have we seen than Your love for us through Jesus Christ. May we be filled to overflowing with that love and intentionally spill it on those around us.  Let forgiveness run free in our heart and veins that we may be free to love without limit.  May it bring joy, honor and glory to You in the Name of Jesus, Amen!