Monday
He Loves Us
Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! (Micah 7:18-19 NLT).
We serve an amazing and loving God. I thank Him for his everlasting love, which I don't deserve but He says that I'm worthy.
Friends, we are all worthy in God's eyes, no matter where we have been and what we have done, through the Blood of Jesus Christ, we are made worthy. Accept Christ, repent and turn to Him. He left a Light on for us. Thanks be to God.
Dear Lord, let those that feel unloved and alone find Your amazing love, mercy, and grace. We ask and pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Tuesday
The Power Of God
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10 NLT).
The power of God is available to us through His Son. I repeat that the power of God is available to us through His Son.
Fear no one. Fear nothing of this world. Be strong and know the He is God.
Thank You, Lord, for sharing Your strength and might with Your children. Lead us today and direct our steps, Lord God. We pray in Your mighty name. Amen.
Wednesday
Not In Our Strength, But God's
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9 NLT).
Whether you are fighting injustice, greed, illness, addictions, infidelity or basically anything that threatens your life or livelihood, remember...be strong and courageous. God is right there with us.
Lord, thank You for never leaving us and always being faithful, even when we are not. We ask that You bring us closer to You today than we were yesterday. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Thursday
Overcome With Anxiousness
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance (Romans 5:1-3 NLT).
Are you struggling with anxiety? Are you letting the little things in life overrule you? Maybe it's a big problem that has overwhelmed you. There is an alternative to the turmoil that you are living with day in and day out.
The answer to all the questions above is turning to the peace of Jesus. Why are we anxious? We really have nothing to be anxious or be upset about when we have Jesus Christ as our Savior. He will take away all of our fears and anxiety by His presence in our hearts.
Sometimes having faith is hard. Sometimes leaning on Jesus is hard. We start looking around us and listening to people that have no faith in God. We start to believe the world and not God's promise. God's promise is that if we have faith and believe in Jesus as our Savior, then we will be able to walk in His peace. Not only will we have peace, but we will also have joy in all our undertakings.
Friends, God is alive today. Jesus is working in our lives. Are we to believe Him or are we going to listen to the world? Yes, we will have struggles. We will have health issues. We will have family issues. We are broken people, living in a broken world, and stuff happens. We must always remember that nothing happens to us that The Lord can't handle with our help. What do we have to do to help? Remain faithful, believing in His love, mercy, and grace. Trusting that no matter what happens today, God has a plan and it's perfect. It might not be the plan that we have, but trusting in His plan and submitting to Him is the answer for the peace that we all seek.
Lord, become evident and real in the lives of those that are facing the anxiety of today's circumstances. Lord, meet the needs of those that are struggling and may Your mighty name be glorified. We pray in the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.
Friday
Let's Be Salt And Light
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God (Titus 2:11, 12 NLT).
As followers of Christ, we are called to be Salt & Light in this dark and broken world. We are to be "in" this world but not "of" this world. We are the hands and feet of Jesus and should always be vigilant in how we live and remember that others see and observe how we live. Live a Godly life, my friends. People are watching.
Dear Lord, we all fail at living the life that You would have us to live. We all stumble and fall. We all have transgressions. We all are broken. We are all sinners. But You, Lord, deemed us worthy. You, Lord, deemed us deserving of Your love, mercy, and grace. Thank You, Lord, for we would never be able to enter the gates of Heaven without Your Sacrifice. Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen.
Saturday
Focus On What Is Right And True
So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it (Hebrews 2:1 NLT).
We must always focus on the Word of God. When we stop reading and studying His word, we distance ourselves from Him. Then when we distance ourselves, we begin to slip back into our old ways and our old sin. The devil is prowling and can't wait to get his claws back into our flesh.
Guard yourselves against the devil and his lies and deception. One of the greatest tools was an old statement of the 60's & 70's which many lived by; "if it feels good, do it". That is a pure trick of Satan. Don't be fooled, people. It's a deception that will cause destruction in your life.
Thanks be to God for His word and His truth. It's right and good.
Dear Father, thank You for giving us Your word, our road map for life, presently and eternally. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Sunday
Shepherding
“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord (Ezekiel 34:7-9 (NLT).
Shepherds - (def) A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards herds of sheep. The word stems from an amalgam of sheep herder.
The Bible refers to both the herder of sheep and also the role that a pastor, teacher or leader of people, as a shepherd. It refers to Jesus as the Good Shepherd and people as His sheep. I believe that we each take on the role of being a shepherd at some point in our lives. We shepherd our family, children, friends, etc. We lead people that we don't even know that we are leading. In many cases, it's a responsibility that we take too lightly. We must consider our actions and the example that we are setting for others to follow. Pastors, ministers and for that matter, the Church, should take this role to a much higher level. We are held at a higher standard for our leadership.
God clearly states how serious it is to lead someone away from Christ by our actions and our leadership in Matthew 18:6, “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
The point of today's message, We are required to protect the flock that God has entrusted to us. We are to lead His children with His word, His way, His purpose, His mercy, His grace, and His love. We must lead people to Christ and not away from Him. Be very careful of the examples that we set for God's sheep. We are held accountable, not by man but by God.
Lord God, help us to be more like the Good Shepherd today than yesterday. Lead us and direct us by Your Holy Spirit. Amen.