Monday
The Good News
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8 NLT).
No matter how busy we get in our lives, we can rest on the fact that God loves us. He will never leave us or forsake us. He proves that over and over in His Word and by His actions in our lives.
Today's verse is a perfect example of how much God loves us. He comes to us while we are broken sinners. He doesn't wait for us to get our lives right. He comes to us as we are. The even better news is that while He comes to us as we are, He loves us so much that He will never leave us as we are. In Christ, there is a life change. It is a change that transforms us currently and eternally.
Thank You, Lord God, for loving us, broken sinners and claiming us as Your children. Amen.
Tuesday
The Turmoil of the World
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand (John 10:27-29 NLT).
Yes, the world has gone bonkers. I've never witnessed, in my 63+ years, such a quick and radical destruction of a moral society as we see happening today. The anti-God, anti-good, anti-values, anti-moral society seems to have taken over. All reasonable understanding has gone out the window. The people that are wanting a politically correct/entitlement world have scales over their eyes and are denying truth over their human desires. We are living in turbulent times.
As things deteriorate around us, we must focus on Jesus and God's teachings in His holy Word. Those of us who believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ can take comfort in the fact that no matter what is going on around us, we have a Savior. Our hope is not in this world but in Christ Jesus. No one can “ever” snatch us away from God's amazing hand.
Thanks be to You, Lord God. Amen.
Wednesday
All of Us Are Sinners
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God (Romans 5:6-11 (NLT).
We cannot claim that we live without sin. We are all broken and fall short of God's commandments. But, we have a Savior. That is the Good News.
Do you know the saving grace of Jesus Christ? If so, are you sharing the truth of Christ with others? Are you withholding telling someone about the Good News of Christ because you are afraid to confront them about their sinful lifestyle? Don't be. God has this under control. Just tell your story about what Jesus has done in your life. That is what God wants from us. Be a light for Him. Be His hands and feet.
Remember that we all sin. Our sin may be different than another person's sin, but sin is sin. It separates us from God who loves all of us and wants to have a relationship with all of His children. He gives each of us the free will to decide and make that decision. So we can choose Jesus or sin. We can't live with Jesus in our hearts and continue to live in unrepentant sin. Christ and sin cannot co-exist. Yes, those in Christ will sin from time to time but when it happens, a Christian should feel conviction and fall to their knees in repentance. We must go and do our best to sin no more (see John 8:1-11). Jesus doesn't save us so that we can continue to sin. He saves us from sin.
Love the sinner (this includes each of us) but hate the sin (that which separates us from our God). Jesus Christ has victory over sin. He wins, thus we are also victors, not because of what we have done but what Jesus has done for us.
Thanks be to God!
Father God, thank you for saving us from ourselves by the life, death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. He died so that we might live, so help us live like we are Your sons and daughters. Help us not to live as children of Satan. Help us to turn from our sin and live the life You have designed for us. I give You all the praise and glory. Amen.
Thursday
Are We Calling Out for God?
As Jesus and the disciples left the town of Jericho, a large crowd followed behind. Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” “Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them. But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” (Matthew 20:29-31 NLT).
I look at the two blind men in today's Scripture and think how we. as a nation and also as individuals, need to be calling out for Jesus to have mercy on us. We have abandoned God. As a nation, we can't seem to get God out of all our schools, government, public facilities, etc., fast enough. As an individual, I'm seeing the god of political correctness rule the lives of wonderful people. They are being deceived by the lies and can't see the “forest for the trees.” I pray daily for those who are blinded by the deception of this evil and vile world.
So, how do we escape the brokenness of this evil transformation of our nation? We escape by filtering everything through God's holy Word.
The other way is to do like the two blind men do in today's Scripture, scream out for Jesus to have mercy. We must get on our knees and cry out for God to direct our nation, our leaders, and ourselves to a life worth living. Scream at the top of your lungs or whisper in solitude, but pray for God to lead us and direct us in all that we do. Prayer and supplication are key means of making changes so that we might follow God's way and His path.
Also, know this, we might have left God, but God has not left us. He is waiting on us to return to Him so that He might bless us as a nation and as individuals. Please pray. Prayer is an open line of communication to the God of the universe.
Thank You Lord God. You are the Great I Am, the One who is, was, and will always be. Amen.
Friday
Only One True God
For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5 NLT).
I have been disheartened recently as I see more and more people posting about there being more avenues to a heavenly “afterlife.” They seem to believe, God, Allah, the millions of Hindu gods, Buddhist gods, etc., are all same god. They seem to believe there are many roads to heaven. Folks, it's just not true.
There is but one true God. He has a Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. There is only one way to heaven and that is through God's Son, Jesus Christ.
I believe that there are many good people who don't believe this, but folks, good people die and go to hell everyday. Being a good person is great, but I pray not only that you are a good person but a saved person. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) I believe in my Lord and my Savior and what He said. You will need to make your own decision. Have you opened your heart to Him?
The truth: one God, three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One mediator, Jesus and only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.
Father God, open the hearts, eyes, and minds of those who refuse to see Your truth. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Saturday
Traveling the Highway
And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
fools will never walk there (Isaiah 35:8 NLT).
For over 45 years, I was an avid biker (motorcyclist). When we headed out on the highway for a motorcycle ride, we looked forward to all the sights that we would see. We looked forward to riding by that lonely farmhouse, early in the morning, and smelling bacon and eggs cooking in their skillet. We even looked forward to the not so pleasant smells that remind us why we don't live next to a chicken farm. It was glorious to be on the bike with the breeze on our knees and enjoying God's creation. It's important and wonderful to enjoy the ride, but we also had to pay attention to any possible dangers. We couldn't get so caught up in the ride as to lose sight of possible potholes in the road or vermin running across our path.
This should remind us that we need to pay more attention to the highway which we are cruising. Are we on the road to a desolate land? Or are we on the highway of holiness?
Lord God, thank You for giving us a highway to heaven. Amen!
Sunday
Transforming Love
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2 NLT).
God will transform your life if you let him. Isn't it about time to stop following the ways of this world and ask God to make you the person that He has created you to be?
My original step toward change was pretty fast. God did some dramatic things in my life, but I now realize that the original step of change was just the beginning. Everyday He works in my life to bring me into more alignment with Him. We are all a work in progress.
Thank You, Lord, for changing us, sometimes dramatically and sometimes, a little bit at a time. You will change anyone of us, if we let You. Lord God, I pray that someone who reads this today, decides to let You change their life. I ask and pray in the mighty name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
