Heavenly Father, I praise You for constantly working on me to make and mold me into the person You desire and made me to be. I give You praise for the times of discipline, encouragement, instruction, and testing. Though I may not have appreciated it at the time, I have learned the value of all of it. Help me today to take command of my day and shake the evil from it.
Holy Spirit, I can only marvel at how You work. From seeing and praying and having a miracle for a child after losing five babies, to how we got our house for $14,000 less for waiting on your timing. How I was able to finance the first three and now the last three books to be published. How You made it so I could become a principal after 11 years and 14 interviews. How You have helped me to face each day after losing my son. How You have helped my wife and I make it past the 35-year mark of marriage, and the fact that we ever got married when we almost married someone else. How You have helped me survive Cancer twice, blood clots, being hospitalized for sepsis 3 times, and yet I am
nearing my sixtieth birthday. You allowed me to coach after many years away from sports. Your timing has been awesome and astounding at times to me. I will admit, frustrating at the time I wanted it to occur, but oh so much better when You chose to do it Your way, on Your time frame and with Your blessing.
Grace and peace will be multiplied to me through the wisdom and knowledge I gain and retain of God and of Jesus. He has given me the ability to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. Through this knowledge, I am learning of Him and how He sees me and the world around me, so that I can learn to strive for perfection and righteousness as seen in His own glory and excellence. Through this, I am learning of the blessings and precious promises He has bestowed upon me for learning and knowing. This way, I can abide and partake in being a child of His and avoid and not be influenced by this world through lust, envy, pride, rebellion, or bitterness. I will make every effort to increase virtue in my faith and that virtue to the kind of knowledge that leads to self-control.
This self-control will teach me patient endurance that I need to endure this evil world and the hate of godliness. From the virtue I add to my knowledge and endurance, I will learn to demonstrate and exhibit brotherly kindness and ultimately the love of God through every part of my being. All of this growing in the knowledge of God will lead to me being useful and fruitful as I fulfill the purpose God created me for and the drive of my will to serve God and help build the kingdom. I will not forget that for this reason I was cleansed from my sins by the blood of Christ, and I am a new creation that needs to grow and be productive while I continue to grow in wisdom and knowledge of God. This will help me know when doubt attacks that I am God’s child and that I am doing His will so that I do not stumble and fail. For I know that God provides for me enough to live life fully and with a joy that can not be stolen, and that one day I will enter into heaven, my eternal home. May Jesus be praised and glorified for my salvation. Amen. [2 Peter 1:2-11, paraphrased to align within me]