Posted on October 12, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters
Back in 1960, several doctors got together and invented CPR, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. This simple procedure has saved thousands, maybe millions, of lives over the years since its invention and will continue for a long time to come. Medical advances have come in the form of PEDs, Portable External Defibrillators, but CPR is still the benchmark for those in immediate attention.
But what about the Christian life? We need CPR daily also. And it’s all about getting our heart together. Confession, Praise, and Requests. How often do we sit back and do all three daily?
Confession
Romans 19:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” How often do we really sit back and talk to God about our sins? I know that I sin daily, some small things and sometimes pretty big things. But sin is sin, and God loves to hear us confess them to Him. “Let us hold fast to our confessions.” (Hebrew 4:14) God loves to hear His children’s problems, how genuinely we speak to Him, and when we do, we receive His comfort.
Praise
When was the last time we thanked God, not for saving us from an accident or a windfall of money that a relative left us in their will. But thanking God for getting out of bed every day, the health of our children, or the simple pleasure of sipping coffee on the front porch on a cool fall morning. “The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. This is my God and I will praise him.” (Exodus 15:2) Many a times I sit back and think of how God pulled me out of the muck and mire of my life and set me free from the addictions that weighed me down. “I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise will always be on my lips.” (Psalm 34:1)
Requests
Sure, we pray for a better job, a new car, a big lottery win, a nicer/bigger home? But what about praying for the things around us, the health and well-being of our families, or the ministries that are struggling. “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6) God hears all of our request. It’s up to Him when and/or if He will grant them. Some of our request will never come, and some come at the perfect moment. Because of that, we know it was God and not us.
So, what do you say, need a daily dose of CPR? I do!
Written by Robert Breault: Robert was blessed to work 8 years in the Keswick Raws kitchen and is now retired, well, almost. He’s a loving husband to Shirley, a wicked stepfather to Shirley’s three “Angels”/children, and a doting Pop-Pop to their two grandchildren, Charlotte and Max. But most important, he is a child of the one true King!
Think About This: “[F]orgiveness is not saying it didn’t matter; it is not saying we simply choose to overlook the offense. Forgiveness is saying the cross is enough—we require no further payment than Jesus paid. Forgiveness is releasing the person to God for him to deal with.” ― John Eldredge
The Daily Bible Reading: Luke 3, Matthew 4, Luke 4. You can download our 2022 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:24-25
Consider a retreat at America’s Keswick retreat center.
