Faith and Love

TODAY’S VERSE
“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.”
II Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Here, in II Thessalonians Paul writes about two marks of a healthy church. The first is a faith that is growing. The second is a growing love that every one has for each other. First, notice that faith and love are two very important characteristics for a church to have. Second notice that both are growing. What is a growing faith? It is a faith that is learning from their experience with God. A church with growing faith is stepping out and trusting God. As a result, each time they get to know God better. Their faith in God is growing because their experience of God is. What would a church with growing faith act like? What would they trust God with? What kind of dreams and visions would they have for the mission of their church? A growing love is one that reaches out to those in need both inside and outside the church. It is love in action. The church is growing in love because they are sensitive to those around them. They drop their superficiality and replace it with genuine concern. What would a church with growing love act like? What kind of dreams and visions would reflect a growing love? Today, ask God to help you grow in your faith. Ask him to help you grow in your love.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, help me and the church I attend, exercise more faith. Help me and the church I attend, love more people. Help my faith and love grow as I serve You. In Jesus’ name. 
AMEN

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His Will

TODAY’S VERSE
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Colossians 1:9 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
What an exciting prospect. Paul was asking God to fill the Colossians with the “knowledge of His will”. But it wasn’t some instantaneous filling. It wasn’t an “insight” pulled out of thin air. Paul said that the knowledge of God’s will was the result of spiritual wisdom and understanding. What do you wonder about? What about your future has you stymied? What direction are you in need of? You could ask God to simply give you His will, but according to this passage you really need to ask God to impart to you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Why? Because God’s will is not that simple. Most times it is not a single answer that we need. Rather it is a series of answers. “Go this way” will not suffice. It is more like a long distant trip. You have to navigate across many highways making many decisions about direction along the way. God’s wisdom and understanding give us the ability to discern each step. Today ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will by giving you all the spiritual wisdom and understanding you need. You can begin to pursue that wisdom and understanding through, prayer, meditation and studying the word of God.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father thank You that You can make Your will abundantly clear to me through spiritual wisdom and understanding. Help me today as I meditate, pray and read Your word to get all the wisdom and understanding that I need.
AMEN

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Live For Him

TODAY’S VERSE
 “You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God — Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God — It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.”
I Peter 2: 9, 12, 15 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
God cares about the way we live. Why? Because it the evidence that others see about God. Many people will never read the Bible but they will read our lives. They may not hear about the Gospel According to Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, but they will know the Gospel According to you! You see, according to Peter, you are part of a chosen people. You are a Royal Priest of Almighty God. You are part of a Holy Nation. Because of this you have the privilege, the responsibility, to represent your King. You are to show others the goodness of God by the way you live. It is your life that silences the skeptics that would bring dishonor to God. Does this mean we make a mask and fake our good behavior? No, people are not looking for pretence or phoniness. They want to see an honest, real and authentic life. A life where you admit when you are wrong. Where you fall but get up and try again. Where your faith is weak but you surrender to the love of God anyways. God chose you. Now it is your turn. Choose to live for Him.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You for choosing me. Thank You for making me a Royal Priest, a chosen person, part of a Holy nation. Help me to live accordingly. I cannot do it by myself. I need Your help to live the kind of life that would honor You. Help me to that end I pray. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Heal My Inner Self

TODAY’S VERSE
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
We worship the God of the Universe. The cosmos and everything in it is under His control. But there is another universe that needs His rule as well. A universe that needs His power, His presence so desperately but can only be entered upon by invitation. It is our inner world. The world of who we really are. The world where we store our core beliefs, our inner thoughts and our emotions. It is this world that so desperately needs the touch of God. It is in our inner world that we need to ask, seek and knock for peace, joy and the filling of the Holy Spirit. It is in our inner world that we need the hope that, if we as evil parents know how to give good gifts to our children, surely God will give many more good gifts to those of us who ask. In her book, “The Healing Presence” Leanne Payne writes, “Personhood, identity, being itself come from Him as our hands and hearts are open to receive. Focused on Him, we climb up and out of the hell of self and self-consciousness. Listening to the words He speaks, we are freed from the words that emanate from our unhealed hearts, from the unhealed hearts of our fellow creatures, or from the powers of darkness: those that accuse and tempt us toward separation and death. In listening to the words that come from God, we become all we were created to be.—God the Father, who has the Power of Being, heals and affirms us. By fiat He spoke the worlds into existence, by fiat He can and does create in us a new and solid sense of being.” Today, ask God to do a work in your inner self. Seek with all your heart, to be filled with His presence and peace. Knock upon the Father’s door, seeking His fellowship, His love. May His very presence flood you with a deep sense of purpose and eternal mission.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, You said that I can ask anything of You. You are the giver of good gifts and I come today asking that You would do a mighty work on my inner person. Guide me, save me, heal me, teach me, lead me. Help me today to become all that You created me to be. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Do You Love Him?

TODAY’S VERSE
“I love you, LORD.”
Psalm 18:1 (NLT)

“A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.’”
John 21:17(NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Has your faith in God developed to the point where it has gone past a religion to a relationship? Has your belief gone past your head and entered your heart? Has your worship matured beyond the praise songs you sing to where you have told God what David did? The Lord rescued David from Saul and his enemies so David sat down and sang a song to the Lord. The first words out of his mouth were, “I love you Lord.” Have you ever told God that? “I love you Lord.” It isn’t Christianity until you can tell Him that. Ask Peter. Peter spent three years with Jesus. He knew Him. He served Him. He pledged his allegiance to Him. But he also denied Him. When Jesus rose again from the dead He only had one question for Peter. Three times He asked, “Do you love me?” When Peter answered Jesus for the third time there was something earnest in his voice. He was moved and said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Both David and Peter used the word “Lord” when addressing God and then they both used the word love. Why? Because, He can’t be your Lord without your love. Today, hear Him ask, “Do you love me?” What is your answer?

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I come to You right now and tell You from the bottom of my heart, I love You.  I commit my life to You. I truly do love You Lord.
AMEN

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Unconditional Love

TODAY’S VERSE
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. — For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:1, 38-39 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
It is so hard for me to accept the love that God has for me. I want to believe that He loves me with an unconditional love and then I slip up. I fail to do something right, make a mistake, get someone mad at me and my life starts to unravel. The lies begin to fill my head and I find myself hopelessly loss in a system of “works” gone awry. A tyrannical voice banishes me to annihilation. After all I have fallen from perfection. Does this sound extreme? For so many it is not. We strive for perfection, saying God loves us but in reality we do everything we can to make sure He will love us. We fear that He will reject us if we commit the “unforgivable sin”. The sad truth is, in our perfectionist mindset, every sin is unforgivable. We need to see this for what it is–a lie straight from the pit of Hell itself. The truth is, there is nothing we can do to have Jesus love us one ounce more. At the same time, there is nothing we can do to have Jesus love us one ounce less! Paul’s declaration cuts through our chains, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” Let the truth of today’s passage set us free—nothing, not even our own mistakes, can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Today, settle it once and for all. Accept the unconditional love that God has for you.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Thank You, dear Jesus, for Your death and resurrection. Thank You for becoming the sacrifice for my sin. Thank You for Your salvation and Your unconditional love for me.
AMEN

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Grow In The Lord

TODAY’S VERSE
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
I Peter 2:2-3 (NIV)

“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”
I Corinthians 3:1-2 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Both Peter and Paul compare our spiritual growth to our physical growth. Peter says that when we are new in Christ we should desire the basic foods in order to grow. A baby needs milk, likewise a new believer needs to get grounded in the faith learning the basic truths and practicing the basic spiritual disciplines. However, as time goes by, like a newborn child grows and needs a more comprehensive meal, so Christians should desire a deeper walk with God. Paul observed that the Corinth church was immature in their Christian walk. Their spiritual growth was stunted. Instead of feasting on solid spiritual food, Paul has to give them spiritual milk. It wasn’t that they weren’t maturing. They were growing intellectually and emotionally. They no doubt had acquired many skills and knowledge. But this is what Paul referred to as “worldly” wisdom. When it came to the things of Christ, they were still a newbie. How about you? How is your spiritual maturity? Can you look over the last year and say, “I know I have grown in Christ this year?” Have you read the Bible, spent time in prayer, participated in small group Bible studies? There is so much to know and so many areas in which to grow. Pray today that God will help you begin on a healthy spiritual diet so you will grow as a Christian.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I need to grow in You. Help me today fulfill this desire to become more spiritual. Help me study Your word and talk to You in prayer. I desire more of You and Your word. Feed me I pray. In Jesus’name.
AMEN

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Love Each Other

TODAY’S VERSE
“So now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.”
I Peter 1:22

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Love is the direct result of knowing Christ. He loves us so much that loving others is a by product of His example. He paid a terrible price that we could have our sins forgiven. And what does God ask for in return? Does he ask us to swim the ocean? Walk across the longest desert? Climb the highest mountain? No, He asks that we love one another. Why would this be so important? Because our love for each other is a testimony that He is real. Our love for others proves His life changing power is real. In John 13:35 Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” The power of the Holy Spirit alive in our heart is never more noticeable then when we are loving another brother or sister in the Lord. Do you know Christ as your personal Savior? Is He the Lord of your life? If so, prove it to the world by sincerely loving those other Christians you know. Love them deeply with all your heart.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You for Your love for me. Thank You for Your grace and mercy in my life. Help me love those others that you have around me. Might my sincere love for my Christian brothers and sisters permeate my life so that others might recognize that You are alive. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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His Love For Me

TODAY’S VERSE
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.”
Psalms 103:11-13 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Our belief in the love that God has for us is foundational to our Christian Faith. It has everything to do with our Christian walk. David Benner in his book “The Gift of Being Yourself” writes, “Neither knowing God nor knowing self can progress very far unless it begins with the knowledge of how deeply we are loved by God. Until we dare to believe that nothing can separate us from God’s love – nothing that we could do or fail to do, nor anything that could be done by anyone else to us – we remain in the elementary grades of the school of Christian transformation.—In order for our knowing of God’s love to be truly transformational, it must become the basis of our identity. Our identity is who we experience ourselves to be—the I each of us carries within. An identity grounded in God would mean that when we think of who we are, the first thing that would come to mind is our status as someone who is deeply loved by God.” It is this kind of assurance that changes a person. It is this “Aha” awareness that changes the course of a life. David knew this. You can hear the joy in his voice, the child like exuberance, as he writes, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” This is the kind of love, grace and forgiveness that ignites a fire deep in our soul. Today, meditate on His love for you. Think about the grace He has given you over and over again. Let the image of a loving compassionate father coming to you with open arms permeate your minds eye. Might this day begin a new awareness of how precious you are to God.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You for Your love for me. Thank You for Your amazing forgiveness. Help me not to this for granted but instead help me find my true identity in the fact that I am someone who is deeply loved by You.
AMEN

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Quench My Thirst

TODAY’S VERSE
As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.
I thirst for God, the living God.
Psalms 42:1-2

TODAY’S THOUGHT
There is a deep thirst in our heart for God. David used the analogy of a deer that has been walking in rough terrain, foraging for food only to build an incredible need for water. Driven by thirst, the deer longs to drink from a stream. In the same way David says that he had a thirst for God. Brennan Manning writes in his book, “Abba’s Child”, “The deepest desire of our hearts is for union with God. From the first moment of our existence our most powerful yearning is to fulfill the original purpose of our lives – We are made for God, and nothing less will really satisfy us.” You see, the meadows, though lush with grass could not give the deer what it needed. The deer longed for water. Likewise, we can try everything imaginable to satisfy various needs but only God can fill the void in our heart. Have you come to that realization yet? Have you satisfied your soul with the love of Jesus? If not, why not turn to Him today. He will hear you. He will quench your soul’s deepest thirst.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I thirst. I thirst deep, deep in my soul. I ask You to come and fill me with Your living waters. Satisfy the longing in my heart and make me whole. I know that You Father, only You, can meet my deepest need. In Jesus’ Name.
AMEN

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