Tuesday May 1st

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  Hebrews 13:7-8

Jesus, with so many changes in the world, in my nation's political climate, and in my church and family it is so easy for me to feel insecure and lost.  You have brought to yourself so many people who were significant to me.  You have moved so many strong Christian friends away from me, too.  In trying to fix my insecure heart, I easily want to "check out" by daydreaming about how things used to be.  And yet, you want me to live today secure in your love and truth.  You never change.  You were my rock in those "good ole days" and you will be my rock now.  Help me boldly step out into the future by remembering you are with me and that the leaders you have given and taken away have left a piece of themselves in my heart to guide me.  AMEN

Since Jesus and his promise to re-unite us one day never changes; I can live today in hopeful anticipation.

Additional Readings: Psalm 106, 1 Corinthians 16:15-18, Hebrews 13:7-8

Monday, April 30th

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. - Proverbs 31:10,27-28

Dear Lord Jesus, it is so easy for every one of us married people to take our partner for granted. It is easier to think of what they aren't instead of the blessing that they are.  Fill us with thankful hearts so we reflect honor and gratitude in how we speak to and about each other.  Help us remember that encouragement and praise work so much better than criticism and manipulation.  Make our marriages what you have always intended, a reflection of your relationship with your church, one of holy and unconditional devotion and love.  AMEN

God always intended marriage to be a huge thing in our lives. It’s the first big blessing he gave Adam after making him.

 Additional Readings: Ruth 3:11, Proverbs 12:4, 18:22, 19:14, 31:10-31, Ephesians 5:21-33

Sunday, April 29th

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. - Zephaniah 3:17

Dear Heavenly Father, I know how I gushed over my kids and grandkids when they were little. Even now I can't disconnect from them.  As their lives go, so goes my life.  It is very comforting for me to know that you feel the same way about me, especially when I read in this verse that you don't just watch me, but you work hard to make my life better.  By grace alone you have chosen me as your child and I feel your love in so many ways.  Help me to live in the confidence of knowing I am in your arms and that through your Son you are gaga over me.  AMEN

God loves us more than we could ever imagine.  If we can imagine that he loves us at all, we won't be able to stop smiling.

Additional Readings: Isaiah 63:7-19, Luke 12:4-12, Ephesians 3:14-21

Saturday, April 28th

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! - Romans 11:33

 Dear Lord, just when I think I have my life under control, you lift your pinky and change everything for me.  Just when I think I can see what you are doing and where you are taking me, I realize I have no idea what is next for me. I know you are behind it all.  I just don't know what you have in store for me.  I join Paul in saying, your wisdom and judgments are past finding out.  Instead, I will sit quietly in the back seat and quit asking, "Are we there yet?"  After all, I no longer know exactly where my earthly life is going.  As long as you will be there with me, I will be at home.  Thank you for the peace that passes human understanding.  AMEN

We do not know what tomorrow holds.  But we know who holds tomorrow.

 Additional Readings: Genesis 12-25, Psalm 139, Acts 17:22-34, Revelation 20-22

Friday, April 27th

"Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." - Hebrews 6:9-10

Dear Lord, I hear comfort and yet urgency in your words above.  First of all, I am comforted that you look down from heaven and see my struggle to love and serve people for you.  You are pleased with any meager fruit produced by faith through me.  Secondly, I hear the urgency with which you call me to take my faith life seriously as the most important part of my life.  Oh Father, work in me the desire and the power to live a godly life, so my life will be a thank offering to you and your Son.  Do not leave me stranded to take on my temptations by myself.  I need you every hour to be my strength and my shield. AMEN

God yells at us because we are his starters not the benchwarmers. 

Additional Reading: Joshua 1, Hebrews 10:19-39, Revelation 2:8-11

Thursday, April 26th

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” - Joshua 6:1-5

Dear heavenly Father, you put Joshua and his people in an impossible situation so that you would be their only deliverer.  And, oh, how you delivered them.  Help me to remember this story when you put me in difficult places. Help me to remember that you love to be the knight in shining armor for all of your children.  Help me to pray confidently and to look to heaven expectantly for your fantastic solutions.  Give me hope and courage to be gentle and patient with everyone around me when I am facing a scary event.  Make me like Joshua because without your help I will sin the way cowards do.  Thank you for never cowering from anything I am frightened by.  AMEN

Jesus ain't afraid of nuttin!  And he lives inside of you!  Don't forget to let him lead you!

Additional Reading: Exodus 33 and 34, Psalm 46, Mark 4:35-41
 

Wednesday, April 25th

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. - Proverbs 14:30

Dear Jesus, you gave yourself so little of everything on this planet when you were here.  You only lived 33 years.  You never owned a home or had a wife or children.  You had no bank account, no fancy toys, and not much of a vacation ever.  And yet, you were the most contented and tranquil person we will ever know. Thank you for not ever giving way to envy.  I have all those things you did not afford yourself and I struggle with a continual lust for more.  Be my Savior from the power of envy and give me the tranquility that comes from abiding faith in the goodness of your Father.  AMEN

Envy will pack her bags and catch the first flight out of your heart when you invite Jesus over for a visit.

 Additional Reading: 1 Kings 21 and 22, Proverbs 17:22, Luke 12:13-21, Philippians 4:10-13

Tuesday, April 24th

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. - Psalm 107:8-9

Dear Jesus, you have shown love for me by giving me life and salvation, friends that many people long for but never seem to get, family that loves and respects me even though they really, really, know me and my scruples, and work that allows me to have an impact for good in society. Protect me from the insatiable appetite for more that prevents me from finding contentment in what you graciously give.  Oh Jesus, give me the secret of contentment by allowing me to want what I have and not have all I want.  Be the Savior of my attitude as well as my soul.  And then, as a changed person, make me generous like you.   AMEN

Contentment is a God given state of mind that is unaffected by any circumstances.

Additional Reading: Psalm 73, Psalm 100, Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:4-13
 

Monday, April 23rd

God 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. -2 Corinthians 12:9

Dear heavenly Father, too often I try to be all grown up in my heart.  I try to live with independent strength that I can be proud of. I unwittingly think you would be proud of me, too.  But here in this passage you teach me that you are proud of me when I know my weakness and reach out for your strong hand to help.  Being grown up is not being equal to you.  It’s living as your child just as I did with the earthly father and mother  you gave me. Help me to embrace my weaknesses today and to depend on you for help at every turn.  Walk me safely across my "parking lot" where there are "cars" that would otherwise run me over.  AMEN

People who know their need for God are among the most enlightened people on the planet.

Additional Reading: Galatians 2:20, Romans 7-8, Philippians 4:13, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5,
 

Sunday, April 22nd

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows. -Luke 12:6-7

Dear heavenly Father, it gives me great comfort to know that you remember every sparrow and that I am worth far more to you than any of them.  I can face today with all of its challenges when I know you are behind me planning to bless me.  Since I don't need to worry about myself, help me to seize every moment and make it count for the good of others.  I want people to be better for having known me today and not worse.  So, help me crucify my selfish desire to be served and make me a servant of all.  AMEN

When you know God chose you to be on his team, you are not anxious about any game you might have to play.

Additional Reading: Joshua 1:7-9, 1 Samuel 14:1-14, Matthew 10:24-33, Matthew 28:18-20.

Sunday, April 22nd

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. - Luke 12:6-7

Dear heavenly Father, it gives me great comfort to know that you remember every sparrow and that I am worth far more to you than any of them.  I can face today with all of its challenges when I know you are behind me planning to bless me.  Since I don't need to worry about myself, help me to seize every moment and make it count for the good of others.  I want people to be better for having known me today and not worse.  So, help me crucify my selfish desire to be served and make me a servant of all.  AMEN

When you know God chose you to be on his team, you are not anxious about any game you might have to play.

Additional Reading: Joshua 1:7-9, 1 Samuel 14:1-14, Matthew 10:24-33, Matthew 28:18-20,
 

Saturday, April 21st

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. - Acts 20:24

Dear Jesus, you raised up a giant of a man when you made Saul into Paul (Paul means “small” or “humble”).  The fact that he could honestly say that his life was nothing to him when he addressed the Ephesian elders while he was on his way to Jerusalem fully knowing he'd be arrested and sentenced to death, amazes me.  Every day, I think about staying alive as long as I can.  In fact, I spend so much time thinking about how to stay alive that I neglect thinking about why I would want to lose my life for the sake of your gospel.  My soul is safe and heaven bound.  Help me to throw myself into godly living and gospel outreach without worrying about how long I stay on this sinking ship.  Give me the peace of faith-filled abandon from concern.  AMEN

Faith leads us to spend our lives not save them.   

Additional Reading:  John 12:24-26, Acts 21:13, Titus 4:7, 1 Corinthians 4:7-12

Friday, April 20th

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  - Galatians 6:14

Dear heavenly Father, as a husband it is so easy to try to find glory for myself in my wife.  As a dad, it is tempting to find glory for me in my children and how well they perform. As an employee, it is easy for me to long for the glory of promotion and raises. As a worker I am tempted to find glory in the work I produce.  As an American, I have been "cultured" into believing that my car and my home give me glory.  I was made to have glory, only it was always supposed to come from you. You want me to feel glory in being made special by you and in being loved so much that you would save me through your Son.  All the other gifts only point to your glory making grace.  Your grace makes me glorious.  I am special because you thought I was worth creating and then buying me back. Help me to find glory in the thought that you chose me.  Give me the strength to get off the spinning wheel of chasing earthly glory.  You have made me for heaven.  Help me to live for heaven, too.  AMEN

 Blessings are a sign that God is there for us.  The sign never is the thing.  The thing is what the sign points to.

 Additional Reading: Romans 12:3-8, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 2:6-15, 1 Peter 2:9-10,

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Thursday, April 19th

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. - Colossians 2:4-5

Dear Jesus, please give me a discerning heart so that I am not easily duped into thinking and believing ideas that ultimately lead away from you.  It is so easy to slip into dead end thinking that leaves me a victim of self-indulgence or self-actualization.  You, Jesus, are the fullness of love and truth.  Help me to grow in your love and truth so I am a reflection of your love to myself and others.  AMEN

To know Christ more is far better than to know oneself more.

Additional Reading:  1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 2 Corinthians 10:3-8, Galatians 1:6-10, Colossians 2 

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Wednesday, April 18th

So, Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:28

Dear Jesus, you must really look forward to the day that you get to come back and take us to glory to be with you.  I think of how a man buys an engagement ring and cannot wait to give it to his girl.  I look forward to that day, too.  We meet in my prayers in the anticipation room.  I know I will be rescued from every difficult and frustrating relationship when you come back. So, my today will be filled with hope.  In that hope I will step out with an excited smile because I am confidence that you are watching over me.  AMEN

Nothing can separate us from God's loving plans to rescue us from every trouble.

Additional Reading: Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 21:27-28, Philippians 3:20-21, Revelation 7:1-8, Revelation 20:1-5

Tuesday, April 17th

I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.  - Ephesians 3:17-19

Dear Jesus, the Apostle Paul prayed that you and your unconditional love would dwell in our hearts and that we would grow more and more to know how pervasive your love really is.  Please do this for me and my closest friends and family so we love purely without giving up an inch of the truth. Help me comprehend how full and big your love really is.  Help me to view all people through your love.  By doing this, we will help others see their need for grace without personally judging them.  I will relax in your love whenever we recall the many failures with which we have plagued you.  Make your love the driver of my soul.  AMEN

Christ’s love is bigger than the universe.  No one can begin to exhaust the lessons it will teach him.

Additional Reading:, John 13:35, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4:7-21  

Monday, April 16th

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments. - Habakkuk 3:19

Dear Jesus, I have seen deer jump this way and that to get up narrow winding mountain paths along cliffs.  It is amazing to watch. It is just as amazing to think of all the ways you have brought me through the narrowest escapes.  In my car, battling health problems, even at sporting events, you have rescued me from near death experiences. Each time it happens, I think of how you must love me.  You will make my feet like that of a deer.  It is a very comforting thought.  I trust you today, tomorrow, and beyond to protect my life until my job is done here on earth. Thank you for giving me peace the world cannot produce. AMEN

God never stops looking into our crib to see that we are breathing.

Additional Reading: Deuteronomy 33:26-29, Psalm 46, Psalm 146, I Peter 5:8-11
 

Sunday, April 15th

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” - Psalm 122:1

Dear Lord, for many, many, years I thought it was a shallow and confusing encouragement when parents and grandparents hounded their kids and grandkids with the question, "Did you go to church?"  But the older I get, the more I see how you do great things for the soul in corporate worship.  Too many times to count, I have dragged myself to church grudgingly only to leave ecstatic that I somehow found my way there.  What you gave me in the message, the songs, and the prayers purified my soul, comforted my heart, and gave me meaning and purpose that I had lost out there on my own.  Now, I'm that parent saying, "Did you go to church?"  Oh, God help my children and grandchildren get to your house of worship to have their souls saved and resaved. AMEN

Corporate worship forces us to storm our minds to take sinful thoughts captive and throw them out into the cold. 

Additional Reading: 1 Chronicles 29:10-20, Nehemiah 8, Revelation 7: 9-17

Saturday, April 14th

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.  - Lamentations 3:22-24

Dear Jesus, it is a great privilege for a sinner to awaken every morning.  It means that your mercy is still enveloping our lives.  I know how very deeply I have hurt you and yet I do not know the full extent of your disappointment.  Your mercy makes it hard to tarry long at the pool of guilt.  Instead, it moves me quickly to the living, moving waters of forgiveness. When I jump into your forgiveness river, it carries me swiftly past the guilt of my past.  I love jumping in this river to swim for you every morning.  Oh, Lord, keep me in the river flowing with your grace.  AMEN

Guilt is a stagnant pond of self-made scum.  Grace is a living river that’s pure enough for a soul to drink. 

Additional Reading: Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 103, Psalm 130, Hosea 11:9, Malachi 3:6-7, Luke 23:45-49.

Friday, April 13th

But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, (the upright one) whom I have chosen. Isaiah 44:1-2

Dear Heavenly Father, I wish I could say that I always live in the peace of knowing that you are nearby watching over my life with a father's heart.  But frankly, I struggle with fear as if I am alone against the world.  It shows in how anxious I get in so many situations.  Your word shoves the truth of your fatherly presence back into my mind.  It calms and reminds me of your ownership, help, and grace. Your word does not ask how many times I have forgotten you or if I want to hear its voice.  It just speaks to my childlike heart. "Do not be afraid.  I am your God.  I will work out your life to a blessed end."  Dear Father, I acknowledge your presence here at the beginning of my day.  Help me to live in the strength of your presence all day.  Guide me to the places and people you want me to touch and make my life more than a selfish earthly pursuit. AMEN

God is with us every moment even when we forget that we are with him.   

Additional Reading: Genesis 16:1-16, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 4:16-15:1-10