Love Him

TODAY’S VERSE
I love you, LORD; you are my strength.
Psalm 18:1 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
What a proclamation! We may go to church, sing songs of praise, and pray at dinner time, but have we really told the Lord that we love Him? When was the last time? It is hard to imagine that we, as finite humans, could have a love relationship with an infinite God, but that is exactly what He offers us. Have we taken full advantage of that? David did. He depended upon God, looking to Him for everything. He writes, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.” David had a deep relationship of trust with God and, as a result, developed a deep love for Him. Today, put your complete trust in God, and you too will find yourself saying, “I love You, Lord; You are my strength.”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Lord, I love You. Thank You for Your love for me. Thank You for being my strength.
Amen

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Grace

TODAY’S VERSE
The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
I Timothy 1:14 (ESV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
It is easy to forget how gracious and loving Jesus has been for us. Paul never forgot. Perhaps it is because he remembered that he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent of the church. He was overwhelmed by the love of God and admitted that God’s grace was overabundant to him. But it is not just about forgiveness. It is about the fact that God loved Paul from the start and created him to live for Him. Paul said this: “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service.” Today rejoice. This same grace of God that was given to Paul overflows for you. Go and serve Him with a heart full of faith and love.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank you for Your love for me. Forgive me when I forget all the grace and forgiveness You have lavished upon me. Help me to serve You more. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Pursue God

TODAY’S VERSE
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.
Psalms 23:6 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
The poem “Hound of Heaven” by Francis Thompson depicts God as a relentless hound in its pursuit of the rabbit. No matter where the hare hides or runs, the hound will not quit until the rabbit is caught. I know the author was trying to convey that God, in His mercy, pursues us even though we run from Him. However, centuries earlier, David used a different metaphor more in keeping with the Scriptures. Rather than a hunter that seeks to destroy the hare, David talked of a Shepherd that loves his sheep. Instead of a gun to kill, the Shepherd uses a rod and staff to protect and comfort. Instead of pursuing with fear and torment, David writes, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.” Both are right, God does pursue, but rest assured He is pursuing you with His love. Today, stop running. Pursue the one who pursues you.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, lover of my soul. Forgive me for running from You. I turn to You today and proclaim with joy, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.” Help me pursue You.
AMEN

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Repentance

TODAY’S VERSE
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.
Psalms 51:4 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
There is a difference between being sorry for my sins and repenting. Repenting is about God. Being sorry is about me. It is my pride that causes shame. What will people think? What will happen to me? Will I be rejected, abandoned, or forsaken because of what I did? This leads to embarrassment, humiliation, and fear. But David felt something else. He felt deep Holy remorse. He saw the true nature of his behavior. It was a sin against God. That insight led him to repentance. What freedom comes when I see my behavior as an offense against God. Why? Because He is the one who created me. He is the one who has paid for all my sins. He is the one who has been offended and the one who still loves me unconditionally. Today, when you think of your sins, look into His face. See Him. See His broken heart and then see the cross. That same heart is full of love and forgiveness for you. His love leads to true repentance.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, help me to see the true nature of my sin. It is against You that have I sinned. Thank You for Your love and complete forgiveness. Help me to live my life for You.
AMEN

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You Can Draw Near To God

TODAY’S VERSE
Then the LORD instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance.”- Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel.
Exodus 24:1,9 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
In today’s passage, we see that God invited Moses to bring three select people plus the seventy elders to a mountain and worship Him. When they went, even though it was a distance, the Bible says, “There they saw the God of Israel.” A theme throughout the Bible is man’s pursuit to have communion with God and God’s pursuit of having a relationship with mankind. We see this over and over again in the scriptures. God is relational, and He desires a relationship with you. In His book, Hearing God, Dallas Willard writes, “First, however, it is worth reminding ourselves to read the biblical accounts as if what is described is happening to us. We must make the conscious choice to think that such things might happen to us and to imagine what it would be like if they were to happen.” Moses fellowshipped with God. So did David, Paul, and the Apostles. You can do the same thing. Today, hear God calling to you, “Come here to me.”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I come now to worship You. Help me sense Your presence. Draw me close to You, I pray. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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These Things

TODAY’S VERSE
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
John 21:15 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Peter had been on quite a ride. He was a deeply devoted follower of Jesus Christ. He went with Jesus to the garden the night the Lord was betrayed and was shook to the core. Instead of rescuing Christ from the hands of those who sought to kill Him, he denied that he knew Jesus three times. This was after He told Christ, “Even if the others forsake you, I will not.” So His Lord gets crucified, and even though Jesus has risen from the dead, Peter is still perplexed. He tells the other disciples that he is going back to fishing. It was there, on the beach, that the resurrected Christ met Peter and lovingly asked him, “Do you love me more than these?” Jesus’ statement begs the question, “What exactly are the “these?” Some say it meant, “Do you love me more than the occupation of fishing and all that it brought with it?” Others say it meant, “Do you love me more than you love these other disciples?” Still, others say that the meaning was, “Even though you denied me after you said you would not, do you still think you love me more than the other disciples do?” I am not sure which interpretation makes the most sense. I only know that Jesus asks the same of you and me. What do we love? What stands in our way of completely and utterly surrendering ourselves to Him? What “these” do we wrestle with? Today, love Jesus. Come to Him, surrender, and let nothing stand between you and your utter devotion to Him. He is asking, what will your answer be?

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Jesus, I love You. Help me love You more, more than any “these things” that get in my way. Today, I commit my heart and my life to You.
AMEN

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True Spirituality

TODAY’S VERSE
We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Colossians 1:9 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Some things are more important than others. And yet they are easy to miss. We get so busy living our life going from day to day coping when God offers us so much more. Paul knew how important it was to focus on our spiritual life, so he prayed that God would give the Colossians complete knowledge of His will. He prayed that God would give them spiritual wisdom and understanding. How often do we pray this way? Do we start our day out asking God to provide us with complete knowledge of His will? How much time do we spend trying to attain spiritual wisdom and understanding from the Lord? We should. Our spiritual life depends on it. When we do, Paul promises that the way we live will always honor and please the Lord, and our lives will produce every kind of good fruit as we learn to know God better and better. Today seek spiritual wisdom and understanding.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I ask that You would, through the power of Your Holy Spirit, give me spiritual wisdom and understanding and complete knowledge of Your will for my life. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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What Do You See?

TODAY’S VERSE
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Guilt, shame, condemnation, these negative concepts fill the minds of so many Christians. They result from events, circumstances, and lies that have shaped us. How contrary to what God thinks of us. Paul wants us to see the truth, so he takes us back to the beginning before this world influenced us. Paul speaks to who you really are. He confirms that before the world was ever made, you were part of God’s plan. God created you holy and without any shame. Paul writes, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Can you imagine that? God received great pleasure in creating you. He sees you as His child, holy, without fault in His eyes. The question is, do you? Today, believe it. See yourself as you really are, God’s beloved child.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, thank You that before You made the world, You loved me and chose me in Christ to be holy and without fault in Your eyes. Thank You for adopting me into Your family. Help me today to live in this wonderful spiritual reality.
AMEN

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Be Free

TODAY’S VERSE
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
I John 1:8-9 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Today’s verse is one of my favorite passages. Why? Because it is so liberating. Liberating in the fact that I can own my sin. I don’t have to hide it, blame it on someone else, ignore it, or repress it. Instead, I can confess it. Liberating in its forgiveness. I can admit my sin without retribution, fear, condemnation, and shame. Why? Because God promises that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness. Today, let your confession of sin and His faithfulness to forgive and cleanse your conscience liberate you.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, how thankful I am that I can come to You with all my wrongdoing and find that You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all my wickedness. How I praise You! In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Watch And Pray

TODAY’S VERSE
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Matthew 26:41 (ESV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
It is hard to pray and wait on God when horrific times come. Peter, James, and John went with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane, and He asked them to watch and pray for Him. But they couldn’t do it. They fell asleep. This same Jesus who walked on water, healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised Lazarus from the dead told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” They watched Jesus’ face turn into a look of sorrow, His posture slump, and a sense of urgency come over Him. I imagine they were shaken to the core. The spiritual battle was so intense that they were overcome. They weren’t ready. The same can happen to us. While everything is going our way, it is easy to think we are spiritually alive, but affluence, convenience, all our different ways of protecting our lives have given us a false sense of spirituality. We become smug, complacent, and ritualistic. The truth is we don’t spend that much time with God. We don’t talk to Him about our life. We don’t listen. We don’t WATCH. We don’t PRAY. So when our own Gethsemane comes around, when we enter into that dark night of the soul, we don’t have any spiritual depth. Our spirit may be willing, but our flesh is truly weak. My Gethsemanes of life have revealed my weaknesses. What has yours revealed? Today, let us heed the words of Jesus and watch and pray.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You that You are there in the darkest night of my soul. Help me to always watch and pray that I might not fall into temptation.
AMEN

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