Heavenly Father I praise You for be a God who expects us to be people of action not to stand on our past successes and salvation. I praise You for being a God who pushes us to learn every day, to strive for perfection (which we will not achieve until we reach heaven), and that You have entrusted us with telling others about You and Your kingdom but also have the Holy Spirit with us to prod the people with conviction. I also praise You for not making me a judge but a worker for Your kingdom so that I do not have to bear the wait of living what I measure.
Holy Spirit teach me the wisdom of how to do goodness in a world where evil reigns. Prompt my heart to daily seek out ways to demonstrate goodness and kindness to people who need it to get through the day. Open my eyes to people who have needs so that I can assist from them with what You have given me. Help me to be an encourager to people so that they can know that not everyone is against them. Help me to be a listening ear to those who need to tell their story or speak of their needs or sorrow. Help me to defend the defenseless, show mercy to the widows and orphans and to not forget those who are in prison.
Help my life to exemplify the thought behind what was written by James when he wrote: Therefore lay aside all filthiness and remaining wickedness and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and a doer, he is like a man viewing his natural face in a mirror. He views himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. [James 1:21-24] Help me to not only learn wisdom but to apply it so that I demonstrate goodness to others for the key principal of the word is to love my neighbor as myself.
But, beloved, remember the words that were previously spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last days there will be scoffers who will walk after their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who cause divisions, sensual, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God while you are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which leads to eternal life. On some have compassion, using discernment. And others save with fear while pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with rejoicing, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. Jude 17-24 (MEV)