MONDAY
Never Changing, Always True And Perfect
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NLT).
Jesus Christ is the Rock which we can build our house. Jesus never changes. He is the same each day, just as God's word is true, infallible and perfect.
Lord God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for our Rock. Thank You for never changing and being the only constant in an ever-changing world. Father, thank You for loving us. I praise and give You thanks today while lifting up the mighty and matchless name of Jesus. Amen.
TUESDAY
Faith
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that would be given as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8 NLT).
Look at the word "faith." It's the BIG little word that makes people stumble in accepting the "free gift" of salvation.
Oswald Chambers wrote:
Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. It is a life of faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us "go."
It's not about me or you, it's about God. It's about what Jesus did on the cross, the stone being rolled away, and what God is offering us. It's about putting our trust in Him. Thanks be to God!
Father God, help us to have faith so that You will have Your way with us. I pray for Your way and not my way in my life. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Mining for God's Gold
“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—
all who seek the Lord!
Consider the rock from which you were cut,
the quarry from which you were mined.
Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor,
and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation.
Abraham was only one man when I called him.
But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”
We are all formed in the image of our God. Our Creator designed and formed us and knows more about us than we know about ourselves. We are His creation (Isaiah 51:1-2 NLT).
We all have the “gold” of God deep inside our hearts. We tend to cover up that gold up with our sinful lives. We keep digging deeper and placing more dirt over God's gold. In order to get to that gold, we must be mined. In the gold mining industry two tons of dirt must be moved to harvest one ounce of gold.There was a lot of dirt in my own life that had to be moved and discarded to get to that ounce of God's gold. I thank God for excavating, exploring and revealing His gold that was in my heart. At times, it was a painful and trying time during the excavation process. But no matter the discomfort, every scoop of dirt that was removed, the closer that I got to my godly gold.
Have you let God remove the sin in your life? Are you letting Him excavate the dirt from you heart? Are you coming to Him for deliverance from your sins? Isn't it time to turn to God and accept His Son as your Savior? Is it not time to repent and let God take the dirt from your heart and reveal His Precious gold?
Thank You Lord for loving us so much that You are willing to drag out the heavy equipment, get the excavator and dig deep into our lives, changing us one scoop at a time. I pray and give thanks in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
THURSDAY
Are You In or Out?
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7 NLT).
I love John's illustration of light and dark in this passage. We must remember that evil hates the light and chooses to hide in the realms of darkness.Are you living in the light? Have you chosen Christ as your Savior? If so, let His light shine through you.
We must also be warned that if we are straddling the fence on God's truth, we might as well give ourselves over to darkness. Each of us must make a decision, is it God's direction for your life or have you given yourself over to the devil?
In old school talk, Are you in or out? Is it His way or the path to destruction? It's your choice. Choose wisely. Is it time to get off the fence and come into the light? You can't have it both ways.
Father God, open the hearts and minds of those that are straddling the fence. We ask and pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
FRIDAYPray for All
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT).
It's easy to pray for those that love you. It's not so easy to pray for those that hate you and disagree with you. BUT, God calls us to especially pray for them. Do this and be blessed beyond all your expectations.Dear Lord, help us to have Your heart for others. I ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
SATURDAY
A Place of Self-Exile
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (Revelation 3:20 NLT).
C.S. Lewis wrote that "the door to hell is locked on the inside." Lewis suggested, the inhabitants of hell are there by their own consent. It is not the angry, wrathful, and vengeful Father, getting back at them and giving them what they deserve. That is not what hell is about. No, hell is a place of self-exile.It is our choice whether we ask Jesus into our hearts. Are you going to open the "door" that Jesus is knocking on? Christ is chasing us, relentlessly. He wants us to open that door and let Him in, but it boils down to our choice. We have the free-will to choose.
It's your decision. Heaven or hell.
Father God, open the hearts and minds of the lost and let there be a tremendous outpouring of men and women, running to the arms of Jesus. I pray, today, that many will open the door. I pray, in the mighty name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
SUNDAY
Understanding Our Role in God's Kingdom
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Ephesians 3:18, 19 NLT).
We can only understand a tiny bit of how big our God is. We can't conceive the amazing awesomeness of our Creator, the Creator of all things.
So, what can we do to further His Kingdom? We can testify what He has done in our lives through the redemption and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. We don't need to have a 15 minute oration on what God has done in our lives, but we do need a 2 minute “short version” which we can share at any opportunity. Remember to share His grace because it's not about us, but what He has done in us. Because Christ lives in us, we should live for Him. It is truly all about Jesus.
Lord, I pray that Your children will be bold and share what You have done for them in their lives. Open doors so that all of us might have the opportunity to share Your love, mercy and grace. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
