Monday - In Whom Do We Put Our Trust
"O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge" (Psalms 62:8 NLT).
A lot of us trust in our abilities. There is also a good chance that we might trust in another person, friend, or adviser. We are quick to trust in things (people) of this world. This is false trust. Trusting only in man leaves us open to disappointment and following a trust like that, many times leads to failure after failure.
I'm not saying that we are not to trust others, but what I'm alluding to is that if we solely trust in anything of this world, we are opening ourselves up for heartbreak and failure.
By placing our total trust in God, we can rely on Him to direct our path (Proverbs 3:6). We can ask His guidance on whom we can place our trust and who not to. A wise move is to always counsel with God before every earthly endeavor or decision. God will never break our trust. He will never leave us or forsake His children.
I pray for our nation as we have turned away from our motto: In God We Trust. We have replaced it with In Government We Trust. That's not going to work.
Father God, we pray that all of us will trust in You, fully. We pray that we will counsel with You about every decision we make. Lord God, we know that You love each of us more than we can ever understand. Lord, may You guide our path today and always. We ask these things in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus and pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tuesday - Trials Equal Growth
"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 that this "stuff" happens to everyone, even the strongest Christians will suffer in the valleys of life.
Satan hates a Christian and especially one who is truly following God's will. That is why it's so very important to regularly read Ephesians 6:10-18. These verses instruct us on how to fight the spiritual battle that rages around us. We must be vigilant in prayer for ourselves and our fellow believers. Prayer is vital and we should be in a continual conversation with our Lord.
Be cheerful, 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.
Father God, help us study Your Word and let us be strong in Your truth. Instruct us on how to wage battle with the unseen world. Show us how to strap on Your armor and how to be ready for war. Thank You, Lord Jesus, our King and our Savior. Amen.
Wednesday - Jesus, the Only Way
"This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is" (2 Timothy 2:11-13 NLT).
Short and simple- It's all about Jesus!
Thanks be to God! Amen.
Thursday - Our Everyday Savior
"The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!" 2 Samuel 22:47 NLT).
Jesus Christ is alive and can be involved in your everyday life. He is an everyday Savior, not just a God that shows up at Christmas and Easter. Let Him be the center of your life, today. Don't wait. Are you waiting to get your life straight? You can't get anything straight without Him. You are just kidding yourself if you think that is possible. Jesus comes to us as we are, but loves us so much that He will not leave us as we are. Ask Him to come into your heart today. If you try to make a life-change without Christ, you might do good for a while, but sooner or later you will slip right back into the same old, same old.
Let Jesus be your King, today. Are you tired of fighting this old world by yourself? Tired of trying to overcome that addiction, alone? Why? Jesus will be there with you, you just have to ask Him to be there. Do it now. You will never regret it.
After all, our King Lives. He is alive and is part of our everyday life because He is an everyday Savior!
Dear Lord, thank You for being available always. In Your name, we give praise and thanks. Amen.
Friday - God's Child
"But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and 'All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil'” (2 Timothy 2:19 NLT).
Are you standing on God's truth? Are you reading, ingesting His Word? Are you praising Him and His perfection? Are we living a life attached to the Root of our faith? Can someone tell you are God's child, by your life and actions? Does the Lord call you His?
Thanks be to God for sending His Son, to save us from ourselves. Praise Him. Thank you, Jesus.
Father God, help us search our hearts so that we might prune the dead branches from our lives. Help us clean up the weeds in our lives, so that we might draw closer to You and so that we might produce good fruit. We ask and pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Saturday - Our Savior
"Jesus told her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?'
'Yes, Lord,' she told him. 'I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God' (John 11:25-27 NLT).
Jesus is our Savior. He is the Messiah. Thanks be to God for coming in the human form of Jesus Christ to live among us and to save us from ourselves.
Lord Jesus, thank You, we praise You, we worship You for giving Yourself up to save us from destruction. You willingly laid Your life down for undeserving sinners like myself. You did this because You deemed us worthy. We fall on our knees and raise our hands high in our thankfulness. It is in Your mighty name we pray. Amen.
Sunday - Wickedness May Rule...but Not Forever
"Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. 'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:7-9 NLT).
Those who follow Christ have read the Book, we know the ending. Jesus Christ will reign over all things. His glory will shine over all existence. Evil and wickedness will be plowed under His feet.
My goal, as a follower of Christ, is to introduce as many people, as I can, to the knowledge of the saving grace of God Almighty through His Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, I know that I will be hated by some of my best friends, but I would be neglectful in my duties of God's Word to not proclaim His truth.
God's Word is perfect. His Word is true and right. His Word is infallible. His Word is never changing but it is also the living Word, as it meets our needs during our mountain top experiences and through our trips through the valleys of life. Because we are all broken people, living in a broken world, His Word cuts to the marrow of our bones. His Word cuts deep into our soul. Our refusal to follow Christ and accept Him as our Savior drives a huge wedge between us and God. Without Christ, we cannot have a relationship with our heavenly Father. We also continue to separate ourselves from God by our refusal to repent and turn from our sin. We need Jesus, without Him, we will suffer an eternity of separation from all that is good, our heavenly Father. God doesn't condemn us to hell, we take care of that on our own.
The Good News is that God never gives up on us and as long as we have the breath to proclaim Jesus as our Savior, repent of our sins, turn from our wicked ways and follow His path, we might be saved. The bad side of that is that we must make this decision before we take our last breath. We must choose. This is the most important decision anyone will ever make. This affects our present life as well as eternal life. Please, friends, choose wisely.
If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, talk to a Christian that is living their life with Christ as their central focus. Speak to a minister or a member of the clergy. Ask me, or a friend who knows Jesus. No one can choose Jesus for you. You must choose for yourself. That said, many people can lead you in the right direction.
Also, open up God's Word and read the Gospel of John. (I recommend a version that is easy to read, for example, New Living Translation). Take your time reading it and ask God to show you what He wants you to understand. Ask Him to open your eyes and direct your heart to consume the words while directing your understanding. This is only the beginning of a beautiful story, your story, in learning what God has in store for you.
Father God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ. We know that without Him, we would deserve an eternity in hell, but Jesus says that we are worthy. Today, during this time of death and disease, we pray that many people will come to You, not only for eternal salvation but for Your amazing peace during these uncertain times. It is in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
Thanks be to God!
This article originally appeared on the Stand.
