Monday
Armor Up!
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:11 NLT).
Put on the armor of God and watch your six. Be on guard. It's fixing to get interesting in this broken world. The longer we suppress truth and glorify wrong, the more ground Satan gains.
Armor up!
Dear Lord, we have read your Book and we know you win. Let us stand firm in your truth and glory. Amen.
Tuesday
Wise Living
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5 NLT).
Are we doing this? Are we living a Christ-honoring life in full view of those who don't have a relationship with Him?
Are we living in this world and not being drawn into being of this world? It's very easy to be drawn from God's light into the Devil's darkness. We must armor up each and every day. (Please read Ephesians 6:10-17)
Being a follower of Christ means picking up our cross and following His calling in our lives. Many times that is not what we have envisioned for ourselves. Many times it is not what we really want to do because it is out of our comfort zone. Sometimes, Jesus helps us grow far beyond our area of comfort.
God, your will; nothing more; nothing less; nothing else. Amen.
Wednesday
Our Amazing God
Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever (Psalm 86:11-12 NLT).
We serve an amazing God but, more than that, a God who loves us.
He has mercy on us and gives us second chances through His grace. I am so thankful He is a God of second chances; a God who sent Jesus to our earthly world so we might have a Savior; a God who loves us more than we can ever understand.
We serve a God who is God of all creation, and He loves us.
We also serve a just God who cannot be in the presence of evil and sin. He has a plan of salvation for each of us. It's our choice whether we choose Him or sin. We can't serve both our sinful nature and Him. God doesn't wish to condemn anyone to eternal separation, but He gives us the choice. We have the freedom to choose life or death.
I pray that you choose God and His commands instead of the frills of this broken world. Our time is short. Our eternity is long. Our decision will determine our eternity. Choose wisely.
Praise be to you, Father God, for your love, mercy, and grace. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.
Thursday
Living in His Richness
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts (Colossians 3:16 NLT).
We don't praise God enough even though we are His people. We don't truly appreciate all He has blessed us with. We have turned into an entitlement generation. We just expect God's goodness and blessings.
Just look around. There are those who have it better than us but look again. There are many who have it worse. Each of us is living under the grace of God no matter our situation. We should get on our knees to praise Him from whom all blessings flow.
Thank you, Lord. When our human condition is not good, remind us there is much more to be thankful for. Thank you, Jesus. Amen and amen.
Friday
Faith Defined
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1 NLT).
Faith – (defined) firm belief in something for which there is no proof.
I can't help you with finding faith in God. Our faith is a personal walk with Him and believing He is God.
Faith is putting your trust and hope in God without any tangible human proof He is there. Stepping out on faith is a scary thing until we take that step, and then we realize there is a God and He is our God. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Thank you, Lord, for loving us. Like your Word says, let Jesus be the author and finisher of our faith, amen!
Saturday
Peaks and Valleys
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow (James 1:3 NLT).
We all go through our valleys in life. We have many trials and tribulations as we walk through this world. It's a part of our broken nature. Stuff will happen.
We also must know this "stuff" even happens to the strongest Christians we know.
Being saved by the love, grace, and mercy of God doesn't mean we won't go through many problems, sickness, grief, and life issues.
Followers of Christ aren’t bulletproof and ten feet tall in this broken world. Satan hates every Christian especially those who are truly following God's will. This is why it's so very important to regularly read Ephesians 6:10-18. These verses instruct us on fighting the spiritual battle that rages around us.
We need to be vigilant in prayer for ourselves and our fellow believers. Pray for the lost and misled. Prayer is vital and we should be in a continual conversation with our Lord.
We should strive to be cheerful, my brothers and sisters, as we fight the battles of life. God has already won the victory for us through His Son and all we need to do is walk each day with our Lord, Jesus Christ. Claim that victory! Take one step at a time by the grace of our God.
Let us shout out together – we praise Jesus as our King and our Savior. Amen.
Sunday
Highway to Heaven
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).
I've been reminiscing about my 45 years as an avid motorcyclist. We always looked forward to all the sights we would see. We looked forward to riding by that lonely farmhouse early in the morning and smelling bacon and eggs cooking in a 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.
All the while, we also had to pay attention to any possible dangers. We can't get caught up in the ride, to lose sight of possible potholes in the road or vermin running across our path.
This should remind us we need to pay more attention to the highway we are cruising. Are we riding 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!
(Editor's Note: "God Has a Gift for You" is the good news that restores the broken relationship we have with God because of our sin.)