Monday
Disobedience
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true (Ephesians 5:3-9 NLT).
There is nothing more that God wants from any of us than to come to Him in repentance and acceptance of His Son. He loves us so much but lets us walk the path we choose. He has also given us free will to do as we desire. The big problem is with free will is that we tend to do our best to destroy ourselves with sinful, life choices. We look for the pleasures and the thrills of the world instead of the peace that He offers. Easily put, we are disobedient children.
A huge problem arises from this sinful life: separation from God. He can't be in the presence of sin, thus we cannot have a relationship with Him as unrepentant sinners. It's our choice. God has already provided all that we need to become one of His dearly beloved children, so it's up to us to choose His way or not.
Dear God, open the eyes of those who are living in continual, unrepentant sin. Open their hearts to Your love, mercy, and grace. Lord let them see and feel Your goodness. Lord, let them feel Your peace. After experiencing Your peace, let them never wander away. Lord may You keep them in Your mighty hand. Father, love us and continually draw us closer to You. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Tuesday
Waiting
Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord (Psalms 27:14).
Patience is not one of my attributes. I don't know about you but I struggle as I wait for many things to happen. I guess the lack of patience is in my DNA.
With each year of life, I've learned that I need to pray often and wait for God to answer. He does hear us, we just have to wait and be thankful no matter how He answers our prayers. He will always answer, Yes, No or Not Yet. His answered prayers, no matter the answer, always benefit us. We might not see it at the time but one day we will realize His answer was best.
Lord God, thank you for answered prayers, even when we can't understand why You answered us in the way that You did. We know that Your answer will benefit us, regardless of how it seems at the time. We praise You, Father, for you are the Creator of all things and You know the beginning and the end. You are the Alpha and Omega. Praise be to You, Father God. We pray and praise You in the mighty name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Wednesday
Accepting or Rejecting
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6 NLT).
You can reject me, but please, please don't reject Jesus Christ.
Lord, open the hearts of those who are rejecting You and Your truth. I pray that all will be saved. The Way has been provided, I pray that all will accept Your way, Lord. Amen.
Thursday
Our Decision Is Honored
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10 NLT).
God lets us decide whether we want to serve Him or this world (with its sinful pleasures). He will not force himself on us but gives us free will. I believe that God cries when people make the wrong decision. He has loved us our entire lives, but He will honor our choices. I hope and pray that everyone who reads this will choose wisely. Our decision to accept God's Son, Jesus Christ, is the only hope we have to an eternity with our heavenly Father. There is no other name, except Jesus, by which we can be saved.
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world (James 4:8 NLT).
Dear Lord, open the hearts, minds, and eyes of the lost. In Jesus' mighty name, I ask and pray. Amen.
Friday
Grace, not Law
I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die (Galatians 2:21 NLT).
By His grace, we are saved! We can never accomplish keeping His law as we are broken sinners. Thank You, Jesus!
Dear Lord, thank You for Your sacrifice for us. Amen.
Saturday
Be a Man or Woman of God
Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT).
Satan roams to steal, kill, and destroy. Be on guard. Know that you can trust in God. Be firm in faith. Be courageous, as you will come against all types of adversaries, both human and spiritual and be sure to live and love in the spirit of Christ. This is the foundation of being a man or women of Christian integrity.
Father, protect us from the evil one. Place your hand on us so that the Devil can't touch us and his demons can't destroy us. We trust in You and pray, this request of protection, in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King. Amen.
Sunday
We Need a SONrise
The God of Israel spoke.
The Rock of Israel said to me:
‘The one who rules righteously,
who rules in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning at sunrise,
like a morning without clouds,
like the gleaming of the sun
on new grass after rain’ (2 Samuel 23:3-4 NLT).
America needs a Great Awakening. We need the light of Christ to shine upon us. We need people to have the scales removed from their eyes. We need truth to be accepted as truth and lies to be understood for what they are. We need so much in order to turn our nation around. Most of all, we need our Lord and our God.
The real question is, Does America want to return to God? Does America want solid, conservative leadership that will put us on a path to regain our greatness? Does America want to be saved? Does America want God to be in control of our nation? Have we totally turned our backs on our heavenly Father?
Today, dear Lord, I lift up our nation. I lift up our current leadership and pray they will turn to You and away from worldly ambitions and desires. Lord, I pray that You will not shrink back from our nation during this critical time of choosing new leadership in the November elections. Lord, please place your hand on us. I know that we are undeserving but many years ago, Your Son, went to the cross for each of us. He bore our sins upon His mighty shoulders. We were undeserving of that sacrifice but Jesus Christ deemed us worthy. Lord, help us turn from our wicked ways and back to you. Let us repent of our transgressions. Let us fall on our knees and claim you as our God. Help us know that You are God. Let there be no doubt of Your love, mercy, and grace. Lord God, please save us from ourselves, as a nation and as a people. I pray this in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.
