I Am Slipping

TODAY’S VERSE
I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.
Psalms 94:18-19 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Have you ever slipped? I have. It is a helpless feeling. Your legs fly up and your body comes down without warning. Once I slipped off a tree limb and landed many feet below on the ground. There were scratches down the side of my body from the many branches that I hit on my descent. Slipping out of control can be a terrifying experience. But there can be more fearful slips. Ever have the fear of abandonment or rejection that leads to anxiety so bad that you felt your heart would beat out of your chest? You feel like you’re going down a long winding chute picking up speed leading directly to annihilation. It is a fear of non-being, leaving you in terror, trying anything to bring relief. The Psalmist knew what it felt like. He cried, “I am slipping!” The good news is God can help you down from those mental and emotional cliffs that you are hanging on to by a thread. As difficult as it may seem, as terrifying you may think the outcome could be, God is with you to help and comfort. He will help you find a way. The Psalmist was in a dilemma. It was sheer horror that made him cry out to God, “My foot is slipping!” But when he did, God’s unfailing, better said, His never-failing love, supported him. When his anxiety was so high, when doubts filled his mind so much that he could not stand it, God consoled him, bringing real joy deep to his soul. God will do the same for you. Bring Him your fear, your anxiety, your terror. Bring Him to the spot where you are slipping. Reach up your hand and He will grab you. He will hold you with His strong arm. He will put your feet in a safe place.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I am slipping. Please come to my aid. Catch me, hold me, help me find better footing. I need Your consolation. I need Your never-failing love. I need Your help. Guide me, comfort me, rescue me, in the name of Jesus I pray.
AMEN

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Don’t Condemn Yourself

TODAY’S VERSE
Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I.”
John 8:10-11 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
I love the account of Jesus listening to the men who wanted to stone a woman to death for committing adultery. Jesus instructed them, “the one without any sin should throw the first stone.” One by one each man left until only the woman and Jesus remained. Jesus asked, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” The woman stood there, no doubt astonished and said, “No Lord.” Then Jesus said those words of extreme freedom, “Neither do I.” Paul brings the point home after explaining our human condition of doing things that we don’t want to and not doing those that we should. He shouts this victory cry, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Hallelujah! That should be enough to set anyone free. Or at least you would think so. However, it is not always, others that accuse us. It is our inner voice that has picked up the stone. It is the internal dialog of guilt, shame, remorse, worthlessness that is pelting us, leaving us bloody and beaten. You see, we can be free from the condemnation of those around us. We can believe, in our mind, that Jesus has forgiven us, but if we do not deal with the inner conflict, the lifelong attitudes of low self-worth, we are not free from the pain of condemnation. We must take an inventory, exercise self-compassion and one by one watch all our internal accusers leave. Each one, unqualified to condemn us, until there are none left and then Jesus can say to us, “Where are your accusers?” And we can lift our heart in deep gratitude and say, “There are none!”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord, I thank You that You have forgiven me for my sins. However, there are attitudes inside my heart that constantly condemn me. They are full of shame, guilt, and legalism, tying me up and keeping me from experiencing the freedom You have given me. Today, help me renounce these inner condemnations and celebrate your forgiveness. Help me live in the reality of Your love.
AMEN

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Denial

TODAY’S VERSE
Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
Matthew 26:74-75 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
How hard it must have been for Peter to face the fact that he had denied Christ. It was obvious that he did not want to. He was sincere when he assured Jesus that he would not desert Him in His time of need. He loved Christ, but like so many of us, good intentions were not good enough. He ended up denying he knew Christ. But I must be honest, I too have denied. I have denied Christ in my selfishness. I have denied Him in my lack of faith. I have denied Him in my lack of witness. I have denied Him in my lack of giving. This is why Paul encourages us to grow in Christ. We need to participate in a process of growth so we learn from the past. This is what Christ allowed Peter to do. He did not chide Peter for his denial. He did not excommunicate him or shun him. Rather, He made it a goal to see Peter after His resurrection and specifically re-engage him into ministry. He cooked breakfast and took Peter aside. He did not say, “Why not tell us all, Peter, how you claimed you would never deny me and then three times in one night you told people you did not even know me.” Instead, Jesus asked Peter three times, perhaps once for each time he denied, “Peter do you love me?” When Peter answered and was lovingly re-engaged with the Lord, Jesus sent him out to “feed my sheep.” Today, don’t let the guilt of past denials stop you from re-engaging with Jesus. Confess your sin and accept His forgiveness. He loves you and is waiting for you to serve Him again.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I confess that I often deny You. I deny You in my talk, in my behavior, in my thought life. I ask Your forgiveness. Cleanse me and help me to live for You in a way that is pleasing to You.
AMEN

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The War Is Over

TODAY’S VERSE
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
Romans 6:6-7 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Out in the remote posts of the Pacific where the word had not reached the soldiers that World War II was over, battles still went on. How many lost their lives after the war had already been won? It is this way in our battle with sin. Paul comes along and writes that our sinful selves have been put to death with Christ. Yet, we act as if it applies to everyone else but us. The battle is over but the news hasn’t reached our heart yet. When we became a Christian, we were emancipated from being a slave to sin. We were set free from the power of sin. Do we sin? Yes. But do we have to be under its control? No. We have been set free. Yet we act like a prisoner of war still living in our cell, oblivious to the good news. So, what is stopping us from living free from the sin that is holding us down? Today hear the good news, “Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” Arise, the battle is won, you are free!

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, help me to really understand the freedom You have given me in Christ. Help me understand what it really means to be free from the power of sin. Help me today live in this new awareness, that my old sinful self is crucified with Christ.
AMEN

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Don’t Forget

Don’t Forget

TODAY’S VERSE
But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel.
Psalms 106:13 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
There is a difference between memory lapse and apathy. We can be sincere about something and forget a few details. However, if we fail to show up, to be involved or care for details over and over again, then our sincerity is in doubt. It can be this way with Christ. It starts out with other things choking out our passion, emotion, or excitement about Christ and then leads into a lack of interest in or concern for things of God. The people of God allowed themselves to forget what God had done in the past. The lessons of faith that they should have incorporated into their lives were never cultivated. It wasn’t long and they began to live as if God didn’t exist at all. What can you do to protect your soul from this spiritual apathy? How can you take deliberate steps in order to preserve your Christian walk? You do it by being disciplined in your spirituality. It is your remembrance of His promises, the recalling the many miracles you have witnessed, the active reading of the scriptures and spending time with God seeking His counsel that will keep you from falling. These spiritual disciplines will protect you when facing temptation. They will be your guide when you have hard decisions to make. May the remembrance of all He has done for you, give you the confidence you need to continue to follow Him.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, help me to remember all You have done for me so I will seek Your counsel and allow You to guide me as I go through this day. AMEN

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