My Heart, God’s Home

TODAY’S VERSE
The one thing I ask of the LORD, the thing I seek most, is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. – My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘LORD, I am coming.’”
Psalms 27:4, 8

TODAY’S THOUGHT
David was a shepherd boy who knew and loved God. Because of David’s heart toward God, God called David to be king of Israel. And a great king he was. But more than a king, David remained a man that sought after the heart of God. I can imagine David in his palace, a long way from the cold nights in the fields with the sheep, wishing he was back in the fields with the stars in the sky, playing his harp and worshiping God. David’s heart cried, “I want to live in the house of the Lord, delighting in Him!” And that is what he did. His heart did become a house of God. From his heart, he wrote the Psalms. What an offering of worship and praise to God. God would invite us to do the same. What is in your heart? Is it a home for God? Is it a Temple of praise and thanksgiving? If not, it can be. Like David, God comes to you and says, “Come and talk with me.” When He does, respond like David and say, “Lord, I am coming.” Today, you can be a “person after God’s own heart.”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, You have bid me come to You. I am coming even now. Like David, I want to be a person after Your own heart. I come today and ask You to take my heart and make it Your home. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Choose Wisely

TODAY’S VERSE
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Our life is full of choices. Every day we make dozens of them. What are we going to eat? What responses will we give to the many questions we are asked? How are we going to react to the various circumstances we find ourselves in? However, some of the choices we make are serious, very serious. They are between life and death. Some options are about our physical life, but many decisions are more spiritual. Moses tells us we can choose between life and death, blessings and curses. Through Moses, God then pleads with us, saying, “Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” How serious is that? It is enough to cause you to freeze from making any choice, but that won’t help. In spiritual issues, sometimes, not choosing is a negative choice. Joshua helps us with our everyday decisions by forcing us to consider the primary choice. If we make the primary choice, many other decisions become much more straightforward. Joshua asks us to choose who will be the Lord of our life and who we are going to serve. Today choose life. Choose to follow God and His word. Surrender your will and commit your way to Him, and He will direct your other choices.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I come to You today and choose to follow You. I need Your help in every choice I make. I want to choose life in all that I do. Please guide me and direct my choices. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Contentment

TODAY’S VERSE
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
I Timothy 6: 6-8 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
What if the world believed today‘s passage? How far would corruption get? How about envy, jealousy, or bribery? If contentment was our goal instead of wealth, fame, or one-upmanship, how much better would the world be? How better would our life be? But why would the world do this if the church isn’t? When was the last time you heard a sermon on contentment? Paul is teaching us true Kingdom standards. He is saying that being Godly and having contentment is true wealth in the Kingdom’s currency. If we have our basic needs met, it is not wrong to be satisfied with that and seek to devote our time to spiritual pursuits. All of us can be rich in the Kingdom of God. Today, let’s find it in our hearts to be thankful and pray that God will teach us more about contentment.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, I have so much to be thankful for, yet I wrestle with being content. Help me understand Your values and strive after Godliness. Teach me about true contentment, so I may have life’s true wealth. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Don’t Fear

TODAY’S VERSE
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.
Philippians 1:27-28 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
We live in two worlds. The spiritual world is real, and we are at war. We are at war, not only for our own spiritual life but for the world’s salvation. In battle, there is plenty of opportunity for fear. Paul knew our temptation to fear and encouraged us to live like citizens of Heaven, standing together in one Spirit and purpose, fighting together for the faith! In his book When Heaven Invades Earth, Bill Johnson writes, “When we refuse fear, the enemy becomes terrified. A confident heart is a sure sign of his ultimate destruction and our present victory! Do not fear – ever. Return to the promises of God, spend time with people of faith, and encourage one another with the testimonies of the Lord. Praise God for who God is until fear no longer knocks at the door. This is not an option, for fear actually invites the enemy to come to kill, steal and destroy.” The good news is that James tells us to resist the Devil, his lies, and fear tactics, and the Devil will flee from us. More importantly, James gives us the real spiritual secret to overcoming fear. He tells us to run to God, and God Himself will come close to us. Today, resist fear and submit yourself to God. Ask Him to use you this day for His purposes. Ask Him to give you all the courage and strength you need to do His will, and He will.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, You know this is another day, and I need Your strength. I want to do Your will in my life today, and I pray that You will help me resist Satan and his lies. Help me to renounce all fear and to run to You. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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His Perfect Peace

TODAY’S VERSE
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
What do you think about? Where do you fix your thoughts? God expects us to consider what we think, and judge it according to His word. Trouble comes into our life, and we begin to fear. When it does, we have a choice to make. Will we remain in fear? Will we let it escalate into a panic? Or will we obey today’s passage and trust in God, fixing our thoughts on Him? When we do, He promises us peace. Not just any peace, His perfect peace. It is the same way with anger, jealousy, doubt, and a hundred other thoughts that come into our lives daily. When negative thoughts come to your mind today, begin a new habit. Trade them in for peace. How? Giving your thoughts to God and then choosing to trust Him by fixing your thoughts on His love for you.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, help me trade my negative thinking for Your perfect peace. Today, help me to fix all my thoughts on You. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Real Hope

TODAY’S VERSE
Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
Daniel 10: 12-13

TODAY’S THOUGHT
I love this passage because of the hope it gives. There are two great truths to learn from this passage. The first is that God hears the cry of our heart. The angel assures Daniel, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.” What a precious reality is painted by the angel. Since the very first time Daniel set his mind in the direction of God, the Lord was aware and heard his prayers. He does the same with us. The second truth is that God works on our behalf even if we don’t understand His timing. The angel saw it as a delay. He was detained for twenty-one days by other duties. Daniel was fasting and praying that God would rescue him quickly. He no doubt was wondering what God was doing. However, from God’s perspective the angel arrived right in time. God was in control and all worked for good. Perhaps my brother Rodney Ovitt says it best in his commentary on this passage. He writes, “To me, this doesn’t diminish my faith or cause me to doubt God’s power and might. It just broadens the mystery! There is so much that we don’t understand and so much going on in the cosmos that we must simply trust God and know that He will see us through to the end.” God will see you through to the end. Do not grow weary, do not give up. Hope yet in God; He is aware of your prayers.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, it is so hard to wait. I cry out to You and it seems that there is no answer. My heart despairs and is tempted to grow bitter. Forgive me, Lord. Help me to understand what You showed Daniel. You are conscious of my situation and Your solutions are always on time. Thank You, Father, that You do hear my prayers and that I can trust You with the timing of Your answer. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Why Should I Fear?

TODAY’S VERSE
The LORD is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?
The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
Psalm 27:1

TODAY’S THOUGHT
David is asking a rhetorical question, at least for him. David is pointing out that God is our light and salvation, our fortress, protecting us from danger. Therefore it begs the question, “Why should I be afraid?” However, many of us do not know God in that way. We’ve never read the end of the chapter. David ends the Psalm by writing, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” It is in the waiting that our strength is renewed. It is in the waiting that things become clearer. In the waiting, we learn more about God and His love for us. He is the answer. He is the light. He is the fortress. David knew this because He had waited many times on God. In fact, David was called “a man after God’s own heart.” That is where the light is. That is where the fortress is. Today, wait and get to know God’s heart.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord, I often seek answers when I should be seeking You. Help me wait on You and know You as my light and salvation, refuge and strength.
AMEN

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Why Do We Fear?

Why Do We Fear?

TODAY’S VERSE
The LORD is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
Psalm 27:1-2

TODAY’S THOUGHT
The Psalmist asks a legitimate question. Why should we fear? Why should we fear if God is our light and salvation, our fortress and protector? Perhaps it is a rhetorical question pointing to an Almighty God who loves us and holds our soul in His hand. He intimates that with God in control, we shouldn’t fear. This understanding results in him writing, “I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.” It is a matter of faith and trust in the realization that God is the ruler of both worlds, and we can have peace in this world knowing that His love will carry us to the next. Perhaps a better question might be, why do we fear? We fear because our finiteness can only understand so much. Situations become overbearing, and we cry out to God and don’t seem to get an answer. Our faith wavers, and we give up all hope. Like Peter on the water, we take our eyes off Jesus. Perhaps that is why the Psalm ends with, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Faith takes courage. It sometimes takes waiting. Most of all, it takes trusting in His love. We may not always see His power in the way we think we should, but we can count on His love. His love will prevail.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord, You know my situation. You know that I cry out to You. Give me a strong sense of Your love for me so I can have courage and wait patiently on You.
AMEN

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A Confident Hope

TODAY’S VERSE
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Hope is a precious word. It is an even better reality. Hope is trust in what you are expecting will happen. But we have watered down the meaning. Hope has become more like wishful thinking. We ask whether something will happen and say, “I hope so.” But hope is so much more than hoping for something. It is confidence, an assurance, a belief that the object of your hope will come through. That is why Paul says that God is the source of hope. With hope from God, we can put our confidence in it and proceed with peace and joy. Today, put your trust in God and let Him fill you with confident hope.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father God, You are the source of all hope. Today, I put my hope and trust in you. Fill me with Your joy and peace.
AMEN

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God Listens To You

TODAY’S VERSE
I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
Psalm 116:1-2 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Have you ever felt that nobody listens to you? It is very demoralizing to think that we are so insignificant that what we say doesn’t matter. But according to today’s verse, that is not true. Not in the least! The Psalmist is overwhelmed by God’s attention. It is the very reason he loves God. The result is that he declares he will pray as long as he has breath. So the question is: If God is listening, why aren’t we talking? Think about it. How many conversations do you have with God in a day? How relevant is God in your life? Do you defer to Him for wisdom? How much time do you spend letting God know about your situation? How much time do you spend showing Him your deep appreciation for all He has done? Today, know that God hears you. Know that He bends down to listen to you specifically. Might you respond with the same joy as the Psalmist and declare, “I will pray as long as I have breath!”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father God. Forgive me for the times I have not come to You. Thank You that You love me and desire to hear my prayers. I come to You today with a renewed commitment. I want to commune with You in new and fresh ways. Help me, Lord, to share with You more.
AMEN

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