Your Cross

TODAY’S VERSE
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
II Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”’
Matthew 16:24 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
I don’t understand suffering. Pain, heartache, sadness seem so antithetical to the love, joy and peace that we claim is the Christian experience. I don’t understand why our first and only stop isn’t Heaven instead of earth. But here we are and in this world we do have tribulation. All of us have crosses to bear. In his book, “Desiring God’s Will”, Dr. Benner writes, “We experience good and bad in our childhood. But Jesus’ invitation is to accept the givens of our life and follow Him. We experience love and betrayal in our marriages and friendships. But Jesus’ invitation remains the same, to accept the givens and follow Him. – We want to either fight against the suffering or ignore it. What Jesus asks is something quite different. – We can choose to acknowledge the suffering rather than ignore it. And while holding it, we can choose to look toward God. If we do, we discover God looking toward us.” The mystery in all of this is God’s grace. Grace stands between us and our pain. It is the salve for our breaking heart. It is the presence of God in the midst of our darkness. It is the strength in our weakness. God promises it will be sufficient. He promises. Today, don’t turn away. Quit running. Lay down your burden and follow Christ. He is sufficient.
   
TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I come to You. Only You can be my strength. Only You can give me the grace I need. I look to You dear God for You promised Your grace will be sufficient.
AMEN

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Amazing Faith

TODAY’S VERSE
“He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”
Mark 6: 5-6 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
This passage has always challenged me. Imagine Jesus could not do miracles in His own home town. Couldn’t is a strong word. Obviously in His own power, Jesus could have done any miracle He chose to, but that is not the way God wants it to work. Our Father wants us to join Him in His work in this world. It is our faith and recognition of His love that works in tandem with His power. And these are people that should have known that Jesus was the Son of God. It was His own home town. And like them, those of us who have known Jesus for so long, how many times have we taken Him for granted? How many times have we doubted His power? It was so bad that Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. Their unbelief shocked Him. Oh, that our faith would never cause surprise to the heart of God. Today, might we consider our life. Let us examine our heart and ask God to birth in us a fresh wind, a new fire and an amazing faith.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, forgive me for my unbelief. Forgive me for my doubt. Forgive me for taking You for granted. Today birth in me a fresh wind, a new fire and an amazing faith in You.
AMEN

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Have Faith

TODAY’S VERSE

“Then he asked them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’”
Mark 4:40 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
You can’t live on your last breath. It’s not good enough to eat on Monday and think that will sustain you for the month. The nature of life is process. Faith that you had in God yesterday will not uphold you in today’s trial. You must choose to put your faith in God today. The disciples were with Jesus everyday. They witnessed His miracles, heard His teachings, and experienced His love and yet in a crisis on the Lake they asked Jesus, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” Is it then no wonder that we too wrestle with faith in the light of our struggles? Couldn’t Jesus ask the same of us; “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The good news is that our faith can grow and while we must choose faith on a daily basis, if we fellowship with Christ and experience His power, the faith we have today will be greater than it was yesterday. So take heart. Even though we doubt, even though we struggle with many of our life issues, Jesus did not give up on His disciples and He will not give up on us. Today, trust God and have faith in Him.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, forgive me when I have lacked faith. Help me trust You today. Help me put my faith in the love You have for me. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

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Do It

TODAY’S VERSE
“The LORD said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’
But Moses said, ‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it.’”
Exodus 4:11-13 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
God wanted to rescue His people from slavery so He chose Moses to go to Pharaoh to demand that the people be released. Moses’ reaction was one of shock and trepidation. Who was he? How could he ever persuade Pharaoh to let the people go? Who would protect him from Pharaoh’s wrath? Moses said to God, ‘“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ And God said, ‘I will be with you.’” That should have finished it. God is enough for any crisis. But I love the next part. God in His grace allows Moses to show his true colors. Moses goes down a long list of reasons why he could not do what God asked him to do. And the Lord is patient with each excuse. Today’s verse shows God’s tender mercy as He explains to Moses how He personally will help Moses speak and will teach him what to say. But Moses still caves. Finally, God said that He would send Moses’ brother, Aaron, to go with him and speak for him. God loved Moses. There was something in Moses that He wanted to use. Moses felt heard and was able to do the job God gave him to do. Today, what are you in fear about? What has God asked you to do that you keep putting off? Do it today. Jump in the water, trust God; He will be with you.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, You know me intimately. You know my fears and reservations. How many times have You asked me to do something and all I did was give You excuses? Forgive me, Lord. Empower me to do Your will.
AMEN

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How Is Your Heart?

TODAY’S VERSE
“He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!”
Mark 3:5 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
It must have been something horrible! What in the whole galaxy could cause God to be angry and sad at the same time? God had a divine plan, a holy purpose. He would send Himself, in the person of His Son Jesus, to earth and redeem man, bringing them into a loving relationship with Himself. Ironically, it was mankind that could in the way. Jesus was bringing the good news to man and confirming it with “signs and wonders” all the while the religious zealots were opposing Him at every turn. Isn’t that like us? Those of us who know so much about God end up knowing so little. And so Jesus found Himself angry and deeply saddened. Why? Because their hearts were hard. The metaphor is poignant. A heart that is hard like stone has no life in it. It is not able to fulfill the purpose for which it was created. You can lose a leg, an arm, an eye and still live a significant life, but without a heart there is no life. So what do we have? Is our heart pumping faith, hope, love and grace into every fiber of our being or has the beating stopped? Today, come to our Holy Heart Surgeon. Let Him do an open heart procedure and restore you to the life you were meant to have.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, take my heart and mold it into a heart that is used for you. Keep me alive in my faith, hope and love. Might You be praised and glorified in all I do and say.
AMEN

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A Deeper Faith

TODAY’S VERSE
“For they did not believe God or trust him to care for them.”
Psalms 78:22 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
I must admit that I am guilty. I do not always believe God or trust Him to care for me. I am not being glib, I am not proud of it. And even though I deeply believe in the grace of God, I shutter when I think of God’s anger toward the Israelites for their unbelief. My unbelief goes against God’s Holy plan for mankind. My fear, because I doubt whether or not God wants to or even can care for me, flies in the face of everything God wants to do in my life. I get up some mornings and the best I can mustard is, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” But the amazing fact is, He hears my prayer. He knows my fears, He knows my doubts and as I commune with Him, His Holy Spirit prays on my behalf and starts to churn hope, and faith and perseverance deep into my heart. And I press on. I cry, “I believe Lord, help my unbelief” and God begins to reveal Himself and I start to believe all over again. His faithfulness is greater than my forgetfulness. His nurturing, caring, loving grace is greater than all my sin, even my unbelief. This I truly believe. Today, repent, believe and trust Him. He does care for you.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I am so glad I can come to You in my human frailty. I ask forgiveness for my unbelief. I need You and trust You to speak to me, comfort me and guide me into a deeper faith.
AMEN

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Real Love

TODAY’S VERSE
“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:9-13 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
When Paul decided to write about love he didn’t mix words. Although First Corinthians Thirteen is perhaps the most famous passage Paul wrote on love and often quoted at weddings, today’s passage is just as good. He doesn’t mix words. He starts out and tells us to quit being phony in our love. Instead he writes that we are to really love each other. And then he tells us how. We are to hate what is wrong and do good to each other instead. We are to have a true genuine affection for each other and not fake it. And we don’t just honor each other because we have to but we should delight in honoring each other! The love Paul is writing about is not lazy. Instead real love serves each other. And what is love without encouragement? Paul, who knew real hardships, modeled encouraging love and asked us to do the same. We encourage by rejoicing in hope, being patient in trouble and praying when things aren’t going our way. Finally, when those we are suppose to love are in need than love insists that we help them. We should be eager to practice hospitality. Today, let’s commit ourselves to real love, the love Paul is writing about. Let us love those around us the way Christ would love.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Jesus, help me love the way You love. Help me love in action not just words. Open my eyes to see opportunities to love, then open my heart to do it.
AMEN

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Heal Me

TODAY’S VERSE
“Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
Mark 2:5 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Jesus was in town and so four friends knew it was an opportunity to bring their paralyzed friend to the Savior. They heard that He could heal the sick so they stepped out in faith and decided to take him to be healed. When they got to the house where Jesus was they couldn’t get in. Undaunted, they cut a hole in the roof and lowered their friend into the room where Jesus was. Jesus was amazed at their faith, but how set back were they when they heard Jesus say, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” What was this about? What was Jesus trying to do? Didn’t Jesus see that the man was paralyzed? Of course He did, but maybe Jesus saw another kind of paralysis, the kind that cripples the soul. Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven” because that is the first priority. In order to prove He could forgive sins, Jesus also said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”  Today, what has you paralyzed? Is it fear, anger, or debt? Perhaps it’s a crippling sin. Whatever it is, bring it to Jesus. Come to Him by faith and let Him minister to you.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Jesus, You know the needs I have. I come to You and ask for supernatural power to work in me. Help me, heal me, make me whole.
AMEN

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Don’t Worry

TODAY’S VERSE
“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
Romans 12:12 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Jesus warned us, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” Life is, well life. It comes with all the ups and downs. But we must remember what Jesus said next. He said, “But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” What comfort. This is why Paul could write to the church in Rome to rejoice in their hope. But not just a half hearted hope. He said a hope that is confident in its outcome. With this confidence we can also be “patient in trouble.”  We would rather avoid trouble, but that doesn’t work. Jesus said to take heart or as some translate it, “be of good cheer.” That is the kind of patience Paul was talking about. It comes out of the awareness that God is there and that He cares. That is why Paul finishes his instructions with, “Keep on praying.” God is greater than our worries. Today, when troubles come, be confident in your hope. Be patient and talk to God about your problems. He will guide you. He will comfort, He will give you strength.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You that when troubles come, I can come near to You. I can be confident in my hope that You care, and will guide me and help me. Help me today to be patient and bring every worry to You. In Jesus name.
AMEN

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Praise God

TODAY’S VERSE
“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”
Romans 11:33-36 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Sometimes you just have to STOP and praise God! It is so easy to take Him for granted. We get use to having His presence in our life we act like the person living in the mountains that never stops to see its majesty. Or the person who drives along the ocean shore rushing to work and never stops to consider its beauty. Sometimes life crowds us in and we get so stressed out that we forget who God is and how privileged we are to be His children. Paul took time to remember. We need to as well. Paul wrote, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge!” How great indeed. Today, stop and realize the wonder of God. Thank Him for His wisdom, love, power and majesty. Let us say with Paul, “All glory to Him forever!”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You for all You are and have done. Thank You for Your wisdom, power, love and majesty. Praise You for Your forgiveness and salvation. May all glory go to You forever!
AMEN

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