Monday
God's Mysterious Ways
For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us (1 Thessalonians 5:9 NLT).
We deserve hell, but God gives us heaven. God could have come to us in many ways, but He chose to come as a baby, born of a virgin, in a stable instead of a palace. God came not to condemn the world but to save the world. Thanks be to God!
Thank You, Father, for coming to save Your lost sheep. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tuesday
Satisfaction
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? (Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT).
Money will never supply what our heart needs. Money will always leave us for someone or something else. Money will never be a true helper, albeit, at times it comes in handy, but that is a temporary solution to a problem.
When we worship money, we constantly fear losing it or not making enough of it. Money is not a god, and we should be very careful not to make it a god in our lives.
Our God is the solution to all of our needs and sometimes our wants. Thanks be to God for helping us to walk a path that honors Him.
Father God, direct our minds, our thoughts, and our hearts, that we only love You. Lead us to worship You alone, Lord God. It is the mighty name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
Wednesday
Praising Our Father in Heaven
That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long (Psalm 71:8 NLT).
All the praise to our God who continues to bless us far more than we deserve. Thanks be to God. Let us be found praising Him all day long!
Dear Father, lead us and direct us today so that we might understand how blessed we are by You. We pray this In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Thursday
Light vs Darkness
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7 NLT).
It's our choice on whether we are going to live in the light of Christ or the darkness of Satan. What will we choose? So, if we say "light," are we prepared to stand strong and fight the temptations of this broken world?
Let me tell you, my life, living in the light, is so much better than my life of darkness. No, things don't always go well, but by having Jesus in my heart and as the light of it, dealing with life is easier.
Father, help us to stay in Your light. Help us to understand that, many times, it's a battle to stay in Your light, but if we remain vigilant and fight, the darkness can not overcome Your light. Lord, give us strength and stamina to accomplish what You have called us to do. In Christ's name, who is the light of the world and our lives. Amen.
Friday
Joy Will Come
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT).
We all have junk going on in our lives. Trials and tribulations are part of life on this earth. Some trials are very difficult. Some trials are horrifying. Many trials shake us down to the marrow in our bones, but these trials will show how strong our faith is in our Lord. By our faith in Christ, we will survive and flourish. In the midst of our trials, we will grow closer to Him.
One day when we meet Jesus our trials will be laid aside and the joy of His presence will overwhelm us. Then we will understand the true meaning of joy.
Lord God, help us to have the faith it takes to get through the current trial that we are going through. Help us to seek Your joy, in the midst of the storm that we are enduring. Help us to have peace when there seems to be only turmoil around us. Father, give us the faith of Abraham. We ask and pray in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saturday
Our Transformation
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).
Our transformation into a new creature after we ask Jesus into our hearts is a process. Sometimes we move faster in our knowledge of Him; sometimes we are only moving at a snail's pace.
The point I'm making is that our transformation into a kingdom child of God is a growing, learning, trusting, falling, and stumbling process. Yes, we are made new when Christ comes into our hearts, but our carnal, worldly human side tries to cling to the worldly vices. We must learn to crawl before we can walk and walk before we run. It is a process.
Just remember, crawling with Christ is far better than running with the world.
Dear Lord, your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.
Sunday
He Fills Our Lives with 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 even now. We have turned into an entitlement culture. We just expect God's goodness and blessings.
Just look around. There are those that have it better than us but look again. There are many that have it worse. No matter our situation, we are living under the grace of God, no matter your human situation. We should get on our knees and praise Him from whom all blessings flow.
Thank You, Lord. When our human condition is not good, remind us that there is much more to be thankful for than we might first see. Open our eyes to the blessings You provide even when life seems hard. Thank You, Jesus. Amen and amen.
This devotion first appeared on The Stand.
