MONDAY
What Is Your Desire?
The one thing I ask of the LORD — the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple (Psalm 27:4 NLT).
This Scripture is point on when asking ourselves and searching our hearts for what we desire. What is it that you would ask God to grant you? Put brokenness and sickness aside. Put the temporary problems this world throws at us away.
What do you or should you most desire of our God? I believe that Psalm 27:4 answers that question.
Thanks be to God for His love, mercy, and grace. Amen.
TUESDAY
His Love
No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39 NLT).
Because God loves us, He bore our sin for us. That is LOVE!
Lord, thank You for loving us as we are, but so much that You will never leave us as we are. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Are You A Gambler?
One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:39-43 NLT).
I pray that you won't gamble with your salvation until your last breath, as the thief on the cross did. I pray you will accept Jesus now and begin a new life with Him, today. There is great news in knowing that Christ accepts us, even if it's just before we take our last breath on this earth.
We never know when our last breath might come. It could be so sudden that we don't have time to cry out in belief before that breath. Are you really willing to take that chance? What about your family? Don't they deserve to know that they will see you again in heaven? The thief's family never knew that he had accepted Jesus, so they did not have the assurance of his eternity.
Accept Christ today, declare Him your Lord and Savior then turn from your former life of sin and grow deep in being a new creation of the Most High God of Creation.
Lord God, thank You for your rescue mission. Amen.
THURSDAY
Forgiving not Necessarily Forgetting
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Philippians 3:10-14 NLT).
Read this and just dwell on what these verses mean. Then read over the last 2 verses. "Forgetting the past and pressing on." God doesn't hold our past against us when we fall into his arms, why in heaven's name can we not put our own past behind us. We keep beating ourselves over the head with our past failures. Why? God doesn't.
Folks, lay the past that you keep dragging around at the foot of the cross and run the race and finish well. Jesus forgives you, forgive yourselves.
Dear Lord, help us to realize we are a new creation in You. Help us to press on. In Jesus' name, Amen.
FRIDAY
Never Give up Fighting
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin (Hebrews 12:1-4 NLT).
Folks, sin rears its ugly head against everyone, no one is exempt. It's part of living a broken life in a broken world. But, we have a cure for sin, His name is Jesus Christ. He died for our sin and placed it in the grave, then God raised Him to new life, everlasting life. We too can have a new life, we can be dead to sin and be assured everlasting life when this body dies.
How do we attain a new life? By coming to the saving grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, confessing with our mouth that He is Lord, believing that He is the Son of God, confessing and repenting of our sin and giving our whole selves to Jesus.
So brothers and sisters, don't be weary, God already did the "heavy lifting" for us. All we must do is walk with Him in endurance and in His strength, claiming Jesus as our Savior, our King, and our Lord.
Lord God, we pray for strength in fighting the good fight. When we get tired, Lord, lift us up and carry us to the finish line. We ask in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
SATURDAY
The Power in His Name
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death (Romans 8:1-2 NLT).
Being a follower of Christ has its privileges.
Lord God, thank You for the privileges of Your, love, mercy, grace and power in our lives. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen.
SUNDAY
Totally Dependent
The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving (Psalms 28:7 NLT).
I am totally dependent on our Lord and I am not different than you. We are just a floundering fish that is out of water, without our God.
I don't know why in the world I kept Him at a distance for so many years. I look back on those years with a sense of loss, but I can also look at that time as working on my testimony.
Life cannot be full without our Lord. Without Him, it's an empty time. We don't realize how much of a desert it is until we start living in His will. We are truly new creations.
If you are still trying to do life without Him, I pray that you realize you will only be made whole by His presence in your life.
Lord God, bring Your lost sheep home and into Your loving arms. I ask and pray in the mighty name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
