Today’s TEA CUPP: Praying God’s Word.
Here’s a verse to help us UNDERSTAND our story, as we pray and share TEA with Jesus today:
I love the LORD, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1-2 (NKJV)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 (NKJV)
Guests are coming! Visitors are coming! Such news can cause excitement in a home, looking forward to a beloved family member or friend. If the house is a mess, though, it can cause anxiety, rushing around, trying to straighten up for the soon arriving person.
Our family prepares guest houses for visitors to Montana. Sometimes we have a very short time between the departure of one family and the arrival of another. We have to hurry to mow the lawns, water the flowers, make the beds, clean the bathrooms, and so on. There is quite a sense of accomplishment and thankfulness when we get it all done on time.
Often we don’t know who is coming to the home, but other times we are told in advance. Occasionally it is the owner, or the mother-n-law, or some other important person. While I’m cleaning the house, I think, “The owner is coming! I have to get this clean.” I imagine the mother-n-law from old TV shows, wearing white gloves as she runs her finger along the mantle. I just know I will miss a speck of dust or a fly, and I don’t want to disappoint her.
There is another Guest arriving to our world soon. The Bible promises us:
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him… Revelation 1:7 (NKJV)
This Special Guest is Jesus. I wonder if we live our lives as we do preparing guest homes, thinking about HIS arrival? Jesus promised He is returning. Do we go about each hour thinking, “Jesus is coming!” Do we wash ourselves clean so we’re ready for His return? Do we make sure our lives are in order, cleaning the sin cobwebs out of our hearts?
I take great comfort in knowing that though I might not have every speck of dust and fly cleaned up before Jesus’ return, I don’t have to worry. Because I am His child, He has washed me clean and declared me forgiven. I can look forward to Jesus’ coming with great joy and anticipation.
Today’s TEA CUPP: Are you ready for Jesus’ return? If you haven’t already, ask Him to be your Savior and Lord today. Invite Him into your heart to clean out all the dust and sin. Claim His promise of forgiveness and eagerly wait for His return, spending TEA time with Jesus each day.
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” Revelation 22:12 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP: Praying God’s Word.
As we POUR out our PETITIONS to Jesus today, here is a Bible verse to help us begin our divine conversation (notice it’s okay to ask for things A.S.A.P.!).
Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And let my cry come to You.
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily. Psalm 102:1-2 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP: Praying God’s Word.
Here’s a PROMISE from God’s Word to claim over our families and friends during our TEA CUPP time with Jesus today:
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP: Praying God’s Word.
Here’s a verse to help us UNDERSTAND our story, as we pray and share TEA with Jesus today:
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3 (NKJV)
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags… Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
I started a new job this summer, helping my husband with his property management business. We prepare guest houses and yards for visitors to this beautiful part of Montana. It is a family under-taking with our kids doing lawn care and household tasks. My job is to help when there is cleaning.
Each home has a cleaning closet with all the necessary supplies, including a box of clean rags. One by one I use the rags to wipe the kitchen, dust the living room, and scrub the bathrooms. I’m always grabbing a new rag to make the house shine. Sometimes my husband uses one of my damp rags to wipe down the blackened grill outside. By the end of my shift, I depart with a bucket of grungy rags to wash and return the next time.
The other day I came across this verse from Isaiah about filthy rags. Whereas I would like to be one of the clean rags in the closet, Isaiah says all my good deeds are like filthy rags to God! He’s not talking about my sins, he’s referring to the good things like baking cookies for a neighbor and sending a card to a sick person. My righteousness is like the grimy bucket of dirty fabric I bring home from these cleaning projects. Oh, what a sobering thought!
The Message Bible says it like this:
We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated.
Our best efforts are grease-stained rags. Isaiah 64:6 (MSG)
With God’s Word telling us we’re no good, what hope do we have? We have the hope of Jesus Christ! He promises to wash away all our sins and make us clean and new and righteous, so that one day we can stand before God, not as filthy rags, but as those who have been washed by the blood of the Lamb.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool. “ Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV)
“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP: As you go about your cleaning tasks at home or work today, remember Isaiah’s words about filthy rags. Let’s confess our sins to God and let Jesus wash us white as snow.
Today’s TEA CUPP:
PROMISES: For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
PETITIONS: Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
PROMISES: Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory. Psalm 73:23-24 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
UNDERSTAND: Better is one day in Your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:10 (NIV)
Enjoy “Better is One Day” Song by Kutless as you pray this verse to Jesus today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvZ4B3l4Xms&feature=related/