Monday
Providing Comfort
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT).
God's plan is perfect. Every detail is worked out to perfection. We can trust in Him to provide for us, and He then uses us to provide for others. That provision is not only the ability to comfort others but to also help others in many ways.
We are never to walk past someone whom we can help without offering a hand of assistance. That said, there are sometimes situations best suited for someone else to handle. Maybe God put you in a situation you can't handle, but you know someone who can? Maybe your job is just to get these two parties together? God has a mysterious plan that gives us an opportunity to work together for the good of others in the mighty name of Jesus.
Thank you, Lord, for your plan. Thank you for putting us in the right place at the right time, so we might be of assistance to others. We are also thankful for people providing help to us when we need it most. Dear Father, thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.
TUESDAY
Taking The Right Road
Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you (Psalm 25:4-5 NLT).
If we focus on the path God leads us to, we can't go wrong. The problem is we usually want to follow our own path. Doing this doesn't work out too well for us.
But, when we do go astray, He is there waiting for us with His arms wide open to accept us back into His fold.
Dear Father God, we praise you! We worship you! Forgive us Lord for not being the man or woman who you created us to be. We know you are working in all of our lives, Lord, help us to live so we honor you with each breath we take. Thanks be to God our Creator! Amen!
WEDNESDAY
Hope
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying (Romans 12:12 NLT).
Our hope is not in this world but in God. We will have trouble and trials as we walk on this earth, but God provides us the strength to endure. Stay strong and pray.
Dear Lord, thank you for your unfailing love. In Jesus' name, amen.
THURSDAY
Prayer Time
Open up, ancient gates!
Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter (Psalm 24:9 NLT).
What does your prayer life look like? Are you getting quality time with God? Are you getting some alone time with Him? Are you coming to Him with praise or just your wish list? Are you spending time listening for Him to speak? If so, then when God speaks, do you act in obedience?
These are all valid questions every follower of Christ should ask themselves. We should spend time each day in a devotional study and prayer. Being a Christian is so much more than going to church on Sundays and Bible study on Wednesdays. We must develop a personal relationship with God. This relationship is founded on speaking and listening to God. He does hear our prayers. His timing is perfect and might not line up with our timetable. By waiting on His timetable, we will be challenged to rely on our faith. As we wait, our faith will grow.
If we want to grow deep in Jesus, we need to begin or extend our personal prayer time. Bring Him all your needs, no matter how small. Be sure to praise Him for answered and also unanswered prayer. It's been said that unanswered prayer is sometimes the best answer we can receive. God knows the big picture. We don't. Trust in Him.
Father God, help us to realize we need our daily prayer time. Help us to be still and listen for your instructions. Help us, Father, to understand we can bring you any request whether it be tiny or huge. Lord, help us to pray in your will and not necessarily our wants. Father, thank you for loving us and hearing our pleas. We pray in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
FRIDAY
God's Grace And Our Faith
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith (Philippians 3:8-9 NLT).
Are you guilty of leaving God at the church house? Too many of us walk around depending on ourselves. We go to church and get some preaching and feel good about ourselves. We walk out in our spirit and not in the Spirit of God.
Folks, we aren't made right by ourselves or by the things we do but are only made right by the power of God. We must die to ourselves and live for Him. We are saved by our faith in Christ and by His mercy and grace for us.
Lord God, thank you for saving us from ourselves. Help us, Lord, to truly die to self and let you have full control. Amen.
SATURDAY
It's Temporary
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT).
Whatever we are struggling with is only temporary. Our struggles are just part of the broken world we live in. Just know, Jesus paid the ultimate price for us so those who know Him really have no reason to fear or worry.
One of the key points here is "those who know Him". Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior? Choices must be made. Choose wisely. (See the links at the bottom of this blog for more information.)
Lord God, may you bless all those who read this today and let them know, no matter what is going on in their lives, you are with them and will bring them through the fire. We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
SUNDAY
Control: Sin or Jesus?
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin (Romans 7:14-25 NLT).
An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
"One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
"This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
"The one you feed," replied the old chief.
Author – Unknown
Are you feeding the sin(s) in your life or are you letting Jesus feed you His glory? Are you letting Christ direct your path? Are you going to rely on God or on yourself? From my experience, I know I'm in real trouble when I rely on myself and my abilities. I bet your experience is basically the same. We must remember, as seen in today's Scripture, Paul writes about his battle with the thorn of the flesh. If the apostle Paul struggled with this, I know all of us will fight this battle.
Trust and rely on God and ask His help. He will help each of us turn from the evil that is trying to destroy us from inside.
Lord, may we fully rely on you. In Jesus' mighty and matchless name. Amen.
(Editor's Note: "God Has a Gift for You" that is the good news that restores the broken relationship we have with God because of our sin. Read and listen here for more.)
