Unforgiveness

TODAY’S VERSE
People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
There is a price to pay for concealing our sins. A guilty conscious can lead to a downward spiral of fear, anger, or shame. Unforgiveness can result in a bitter and hardened heart toward God. Soon we find ourselves ignoring the tug of the Holy Spirit calling us to repentance. But for many of us, the thought of our sins is terrifying. Fear of abandonment; the need to please others; a deep sense of shame keeps us in denial. We rationalize our behavior; we minimize its significance; we blame others. We call it everything we can but sin. So we slowly die, day by day, our sins are hidden. At least from ourselves. Is the person that is in denial about their behavior fooling anyone? Is the one that is acting out in anger in danger of being mistaken for a saint? There is a way out. We need to lean on the love of God. We need to know that He will never leave us or turn His back on us. When we really know the love of God, then we trust Him and can ask Him to point out our sins. He will bring about a conviction. His Spirit will lead us to confess our sins to God and turn from them. Why, because we will know we will receive His mercy. Today, talk to God. Ask Him to point out any sin in Your life. When He does, confess it to God and receive His mercy.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, show me my sins. I give You my fear and shame. I trust in Your love for me and do not want to be in any more denial. Show me my hidden sins so I can confess them in Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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What’s The Use?

TODAY’S VERSE
What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the LORD of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?
Malachi 3:14 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Have you ever been disappointed? Has it ever seemed like everything was going wrong, and God seemed nowhere in sight? Sure it has. We all go through these “dark nights of the soul.” The question arises, “What’s the use of serving God?” “What good is living the life He wants me to?” It is in these times that we reflect and pray for perspective. We come to God and ask for wisdom and mercy as we work through our faith. The Israelites didn’t. Instead, the questions they were asking were rhetorical. They were really saying, “It is no use in following God. We haven’t gained anything from serving Him.” They were bitter and cynical about life. And that is where we will be if we don’t remember all that we have gained from knowing Christ. What have we gained? We have gained forgiveness, unconditional love, freedom from our sins, forgiveness, direction, provision, meaning, purpose, a relationship with Him, the filling of the Holy Spirit, everything good in our life. What have we gained? How about a second, third, and hundredth chance, a do-over, a new life, a new Father, a new eternal home? Today, don’t let cynicism get the best of you. Answer the question, “What’s the use of serving God” by considering all the ways you have been blessed.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, how I praise You for Your love and mercy. How I thank You for your provision. Help me today to remember all You have done for me.
AMEN

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His Mercy

TODAY’S VERSE
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:3-7 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Although Paul was talking about life before knowing Christ, I have found even as I live my life as a Christian, that there are many times I experience my foolishness and disobedience. I have been deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. Malice and envy have consumed me to where I have hated and been hated. And yet, with Paul, I can say the kindness and love of God has appeared to me over and over again. You see, I strive to live under the Lordship of Christ. As I walk with Him, He continually convicts me and draws me back to Himself. Like Paul, the joy I experience in the fresh forgiveness of sins and renewed fellowship with Christ is, “not because of righteous things I have done but because of His mercy.” Like Paul, I am dependent on the renewal of the Holy Spirit to live my life. How about you? Do you experience the joy that comes from a daily walk with the living Christ? You were not made to receive Christ and then stop your Christian experience. Receiving Christ is only the beginning. You are meant to grow in Christ into a fully mature believer. Today, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the blessed realization of your sins forgiven, fellowshipping with Christ as the Lord of your life.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, thank you for forgiving me of my sins. Thank you for the grace, mercy, peace, and joy that you pour into my life. Help me to live for you each and every day with the realization of all you have done for me.
AMEN

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A Way Of Escape

TODAY’S VERSE
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
I Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
How subtle sin can be. We begin to wander from the things of God, and soon our life starts to take a different course. Most people that end in some sort of addiction or negative situation never intended to get there. They didn’t wake up one day and say, “I think I will go down a road that will ruin my life.” No, it was small little navigations that got them to the foreign shore. Likewise, in the life of a Christian, we don’t wake up one day and say, “I will be far from God.” It starts with missed opportunities of fellowship, lack of discipline in prayer, Bible study and mediation, weekdays between church services without Christian influence. Little by little, we become more and more like the world around us and trade our Christian experience for a mask we wear on Sunday. What can we do? Thank God for the reality of what Paul shares in today’s passage. Paul reminds us that the temptations that you and I face every day are the same as everyone else’s, but God is faithful and will show us a way out. On every descent away from God, there is a window of sanity. There is an opportunity to repent, to turn around, to come back to God. The prodigal son found it. Peter found it. God enables us to “come to our self,” to come to our senses, and He does provide a way out. Today, if you find yourself far from where God wants you, ask yourself, “Who moved?” God didn’t. He loves you; turn around, there is a way of escape.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, it is so easy to wander from You. Forgive me. Help me to escape today from all that entraps me. Help me break away from all that has taken my heart from You. I come to You now, dear Lord. I want to follow You.
AMEN

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Making Sense

TODAY’S VERSE
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.
Luke 15:17-20 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
“When he came to his senses.” It’s that quick. You can be struggling for years, and then there is a moment of clarity, an “aha” moment, a spiritual awakening. Like the tumblers of a lock falling in place, your mind is clear, and the truth is opened right before your eyes. It is a God moment. A combination of awareness, conviction, holy discontent, and a sensation that “now is the time.” The scales have tipped. There is more to gain from changing than staying the same. The prodigal son saw that there was more to gain from going home than staying in the pigpen. How about us? When is it going to make more sense to fellowship with God than the world? When will we understand that there is much more satisfaction in following Christ’s plan for our life than our own? When will we believe that He does love us unconditionally and that there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less? These are the realizations that change a life. Have you made them yet?

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, today I have come to my senses and realize the love You have for me. I choose to live for You and surrender all that I have for Your use. You are the Lord God Almighty, and I have come to realize that living for You makes all the sense in the world. In Jesus Name.
AMEN

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Two Sins

TODAY’S VERSE
My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Separation from God usually comes in two phases. First, we start to stray. Little by little, we start to forsake fellowship, fail to meditate in His word and spend less and less time in prayer. Good things take us from the more important. Urgent begins to replace the best. How subtle the path is. We end up farther and farther away from the spiritual milieu that once fed our soul. Second, we not only stray we actually find a new home. Jeremiah says not only do we forsake the spring of living water; we actually go out and dig our own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold any water. They look great on the outside but are empty on the inside. Where are you today? Are you straying farther and farther from God? Have you actually moved away and found other interests that take top priority in your life? Stop! Go no farther. Turn back. Come to your Heavenly Father today and ask Him to cleanse your heart and put a new thirst in your soul leading you back to His spring of living water.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, forgive me for straying from You. I have forsaken Your living waters and have attempted to quench my own thirst. I admit that I am still thirsty. I know that only You can satisfy, and I ask Lord that You would fill my cup today with Your life-giving presence.
AMEN

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Soften Your Heart

TODAY’S VERSE
This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.”
Jeremiah 4:3 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Have you ever tried planting vegetables in a patch of weeds? I did once, and it was a disaster. Instead of breaking up the soil and getting rid of the weeds, I had heard that laying plastic down and cutting a slit for the seeds was easier. It made sense to me. So I planted the seeds and thought the plastic would stop the weeds. Perhaps that would have been true if I used black plastic. But I used clear! Hello! Without knowing it, I created a greenhouse for weeds! So much for my shortcut. Barely a vegetable survived. How much better had I plowed the row, planted the seeds, and then systematically take out the weeds? This is what God wants us to do with our hearts. We are to take our spiritually hardened hearts and break up the soil. We do this by letting God’s word humble us, teach us, correct us, and guide us. Through His Spirit, God takes out the weeds that have grown in our hearts. When we allow this, God then replaces the weeds with the fruit of the Spirit. Is your heart hardened toward the things of God? Soften it today through prayer, a humble attitude, and His word.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I give You my heart. I ask You to break up the hardened ground and pull out all the weeds. Take the seeds of your word and create the fruit of the Spirit in my life.
AMEN

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Come

TODAY’S VERSE
“Come, follow me,’ Jesus said”
Matthew 4:19

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Come is one of the most beautiful words in the Bible. It is an offer to participate in something. An invitation to move in a certain direction. It is only as good as the person requesting you to come and the object which you are moving toward. Today God offers so much for you to partake of. He offers you the ultimate relationship with Himself and all that goes with it. What is it your soul desires? Come. What is it that you find missing in your life? Come. Are you weary? Come and find rest. Are you poor in Spirit? Come, take your inheritance. Is your heart thirsty? Come. Do you desire peace, joy, forgiveness, strength, hope, and love? Come. Today, hear the voice of the Lord. He is calling out to you. All you need to do is come.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, You love me, and today I hear Your voice say, “Come.” So I come to You dear Lord with open arms and heart. I come to You in humility and anticipation to receive all that You have for me. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Get Rid Of Anger

TODAY’S VERSE
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil.
Psalm 37:7-8

TODAY’S THOUGHT
In life, you will always find situations that will make you angry. It is what you do next that makes a difference. Many who have acted out their anger justify it by saying that it was “righteous indignation.” But I don’t see righteous indignation listed by Paul as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Instead, God encourages us to react differently. In today’s passage, we are told to be still before God and wait patiently for Him. We are to stop fretting, refrain from anger, and turn from wrath. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians that we are to get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. Paul admonishes us to be compassionate and forgiving toward each other like Christ is to us! Today, when pressures mount up, when there is a misunderstanding when you feel like there is no way out, don’t let anger take over. Get rid of the bitterness, rage, and anger that consumes you. It is a habit that needs to be broken. Instead, pause, take a deep breath, lift up a prayer and ask God to help you react in a more Godly fashion. Do what Paul suggests. Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving toward those that have made you mad. Why? Because Christ has already done the same for you!

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, You know how anger comes so easily for me. You know how I struggle to let you control my life, especially in negative situations. Forgive me. Help me trade my anger for compassion, my bitterness for forgiveness, my rage for love. Help me live the way You would have me live. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Restore Me

TODAY’S VERSE
Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
Psalms 80:3 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
The Children of Israel had abandoned God. They turned their back on God and began to worship Idols. God was angry at their betrayal. But a few of the people cried out to God. They repented and pleaded with God for mercy. Three times in this Psalm the author cries, “Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” And God did. He has done the same for me. How many times have I turned my back on God with unbelief, doubt, fear and even apathy? How many times have I wandered far from God, pursuing other objects of affection, ignoring the love He has for me? And yet, God loved me when I was farthest from Him? I snarled at His hand of affection, yet He reached down to me again. Likewise, God hears your cries. He is waiting for you to call out to Him. He loves to answer the prayer of repentance. Might your prayer be today, “Turn me again to Yourself, Oh God; make Your face shine upon me that I might be saved.”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord, restore my soul to You. Forgive me for the times I have wandered far away from You and have mercy upon me today. Shine Your face upon me that I might sense Your love, mercy, and forgiveness. Lead me back to You. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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