Tuesday, January 15th

“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah!’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. John 1:40-42

We don’t hear much about Andrew. He never preached a sermon like his brother Simon Peter on Pentecost. He never worked great miracles like Peter. He never wrote epistles as Peter did. But Andrew had the distinction of being the one who brought his brother to Jesus. Perhaps I can’t remember the “Andrew” who cared enough for my soul to tell me about Jesus. Was it Christian parents who brought me to the baptismal font? Was it a pastor or teacher who took the time to tell me about the Savior? Was it a spouse who loved me so much that s/he wanted me to know the One who loved me even more? The name of my Andrew doesn’t really matter all that much. What does matter is the question, To whom will I be an Andrew? It’s not hard to be an Andrew and tell someone about the Lamb who takes away sin. All I need to do is repeat Andrew’s words: “We have found the Messiah.” I don’t have to argue like some learned theologian. After all, the Bible is fact, and you don’t argue facts. You simply state them. I don’t need to convert someone to faith. All I need to do is point to that Lamb and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. But like Andrew, once the Lamb is in my heart, point I must and will!

Lord, help me be an Andrew; help me to tell all I can about the Lamb who takes away sin. Amen.

Monday, January 14th

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

 Dear Jesus, the way that you conducted yourself during your intense suffering is incredible.  You trusted God under it all and that kept you from retaliating.  And sometimes when I get the least bit of negative tone from another person I shoot back the same to them.  Please help me trust the Father the way that you do.  Help me let go of the need to be respected, to be treated fairly, to always want others to be nice.  Help me to trust that the Father is working out good even in their mistakes that affect me and then to let go of all need to control their responses.  I want to reflect that love and trust that you used to save my soul.  Perhaps I will save theirs too by getting an audience for your word once they seem my unique reaction caused by you.  AMEN

 Living out the faith is impossible without the one in which we have faith.

Sunday, January 13th

“Today you will be with me in Paradise." - Luke 23:43

 Dear Jesus, on this Ash Wednesday I think of how frail and mortal I am.  I won't be here long.  And therefore, my body will not last.  But I relish the words you told the thief next to you as you were making all things new, "Today .. Paradise." You have rescued me and so my soul and body will squeeze through death unscathed.  I fear death at times, more than I want to admit.  But having your promise of life, gives me a light to hold onto.  As we enter Lent help me to be serious about life and faith and joyful about eternal life. And today help those who preach, to give their people your heart and soul as they speak the very words of God. AMEN

To live in Christ it to live beyond fate.

Saturday, January 12th

"Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure.  God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." - Hebrews 13:4

Dear Heavenly Father, you do not pull any punches when it comes to something so dear to your heart.  On this Valentine's Day, I join you and your love for marriage.  Please protect the hearts of everyone who is married.  Make them love each other with an undying humble acceptance.  Help them to listen with their hearts wide open, to forgive before their partner even realizes the wrong they have done, to find creative ways to show support and help.  Stamp out loneliness that creeps into a marriage and makes one feel cheated and ruined.  Be their strength, their light and the way out of their problems.  And for all those who are single, give them soul mates for friends who will fill their waking moments with heartfelt conversations which satisfies the deep longing we all have for relationships.  And thank you for promising to one day give us the prize, perfect relationships in heaven with all we know and so many more that we will meet. AMEN

Marriage is God's invention.  Let no one treat it lightly.

Friday, January 11th

"Each one should test his own actions.  Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to someone else, for each one should carry his own load."  - Galatians 6:4

 Dear Jesus, your verse from Galatians is very insightful for me.  You have uniquely suited me to live my own life with you.  I know that no one can serve exactly like me nor can I serve like them.  Often I get distracted by what others are doing and want to compare myself to them to see how I am doing.  Help me just to test my own thoughts and motives by filtering them through your word.  Help me to love others but not compare myself to them.  I want to be happy and content with my own life of love without measuring it by other people's abilities or interests.  Also, thank you that you loved me before I showed any worthiness.  Your love for me gives me stability and peace.  AMEN

 We live for an audience of One.

Thursday, January 10th

Let us not grow weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

Dear Jesus, give me the faith and patience to wait for the proper time for you to produce a harvest from the good deeds you lead me to do.  I sometimes want immediate results and grow disappointed and impatient and even want to quit doing those things.  Help me to stop trying to be you, oh God.  You decide what results you are working in all that you lead us to do.  I just want to be your instrument.  You can be the author and finisher of what I do.  Give me the will to do good for everyone today and to throw results to the wind. AMEN

Give much thought to whom you might help.  Give little thought to how they respond.

Wednesday, January 8th

"If two lie down together they will keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?"- Ecclesiastes 4:11

Dear heavenly Father, today I thank you for all the friends you have put into my life who were there when I needed them, who confronted me honestly when I was acting out of my mind and apart from your truth and grace, who picked up the slack I had created, who loved me when I was unlovable, who trusted me with their secrets, who set aside their schedule to dry my tears or listen to a grief observed, who allowed long lunches, slow walks and quirks that I could not avoid.  Thank you for the friends who took time to call for no reason at all and who dared to share life with me of all people.  Help me to be that friend that you have given me so I make other's lives more pleasant, tolerable and wonderful.  Jesus, help me lay down my life for my friends like you! AMEN

In Friendship we multiply one another's joys and divide one another's sorrows.

Tuesday, January 8th

"There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." - Luke 15:10

 Dear Jesus, you said this when you had to defend yourself against criticism for sitting with those who had spent a lifetime hurting and rejecting others.  Sometimes it seems to me to be such a huge waste of time to sit with people who have made such a huge mess out of their lives.  But you press me into it because you and all the angels of heaven are wanting those souls to turn back and be saved.  Help me to not keep thinking about how much they have offended me or others and to just focus on how badly you want them back in your fold.  I want to learn to rejoice over a sinner saved more than sulk over the damage they have done.  Help me Lord Jesus to deal with the Pharisee in my heart.  AMEN

To forgive is to free both me and the one who has hurt me.

Monday, January 7th

"Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:8

 Dear Jesus, though such a short passage, it speaks volumes in my heart.  Love never fails. I think of the people from whom I want to walk away and I ask, "Never?"  I think of the worst sinners who hurt so many people, and I ask, "Never?"  I think of the repeated sarcastic remarks and failures to come through in a pinch and I ask, "Never?"  Can we not just once give up loving those who declare that they despise our love?  But your love, even in justice, never fails.  I want that love that makes me pursue the lost, the mean, the twisted to give them one more opportunity to be restored.  Give me that love by your Holy Spirit.  Use the gospel story of your cross to melt my hard heart and teach me how to love even when I must confront or draw boundaries.  Free me from my fickle heart!  AMEN

"Of all the things love dares to do, this is the ultimate; though threatened, it keeps pursuing. Though challenged, it keeps moving forward.  Though mistreated and rejected, it refuses to give up."  - Stephen Kendrick

Sunday, January 6th

"‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends." - Luke 15:29

Dear Jesus, it is confession time!  The words you put into the mouth of the older brother (in the parable) to show your friends how they sounded before God when he was giving his grace to sinners; they convict me.  Too often I view my service to you like that of a spiritual "employee."  I think of what's in it for me and measure how you have blessed others compared to me.  I forget that we have a loving, lasting family relationship.  I am your child and you have promised to give me everything I need for this body and life.  I repent of being so selfish.  Now help me to throw myself into loving you and serving others.  I want to lose my life so I can find it again.  AMEN

Taking stock of one's own blessings compared to others lowers the value of each share.

Saturday, January 5th

Be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing. - 1 Peter 3:8-9

Dear Jesus, when I am slighted or someone pulls out in front of me to get ahead, the first thought I usually have is not, "Don't be a proud self".  It is, "Hey, that guy is wrong and of all people he should not have wronged me!"  Then I sometimes say insults under my breath.  Help me to change that.  Help me to give a blessing and to be humble not expecting any special treatment.  I want to learn to smile from deep in my heart and wave at the irritation   I want to overcome evil with good.  Give me that wisdom and strength to bless and not curse when insults come.  And in the family, help me to not be so comfortable with my spouse and kids that I spar with them needlessly over silly things. AMEN

 Control of the tongue begins with control of the heart, a fruit of the Spirit.

Friday, January 4th

“So he got up and went to his father. ‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’” Luke 15:20

PRAYER:  Everyone loves happy endings, LORD.  So was the case for this son.  The ending is happy not so much that the son humbly admitted his wrongdoings and was happily reunited with his father.  The ending is happy because the Father was still waiting for his foolish, rebellious son.  The ending is happy because the Father was waiting to reinstate his son as a son in full standing.  Day in and day out, from one year to the next, I find your arms open and feel your loving embrace when I come to you in prayer and when I listen to your Word.  Thank you for still waiting for me although I often wander from home.  Thank you for watchful eye and heart full of compassion.  Amen.

I look forward to a happy ending with Jesus every day.

Thursday, January 3rd

"My goal is to know Him (Jesus) and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." - Philippians 3:10

Dear Jesus, my mind and heart gets filled with goals every day and often the goal I see in this passage is only one among many.  Then when trouble comes, I chaff and complain inside.  I want to know the power of your resurrection living in my heart, how I can live above my world around me, how I can refuse sin and evil and fear of suffering, how I can have hope in all situations. When I see Paul's words that he wanted to fellowship in your sufferings, it is foreign to my mind.  Help me Jesus, to want to serve God's will, "come what may" so that my life reaches its full potential in your eyes, even if that means death.  I entrust my life in your hands.  AMEN

"We do not live until we die to our desire to ourselves."

Wednesday, January 2nd

"A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart." - Proverbs 18:2

 Dear Lord Jesus, I often find myself scheming on how to make myself understood by others.  I want them to know me, my passions, my purposes and my perspective.  Less often do I seem to want to know them, their passions, their purposes and perspectives.  I repent.  Help me to ask thoughtful questions and to thoughtfully listen to what people are trying to say to me.  Make me a person of understanding who draws out the real person deep down inside of others.  Help me to love them for who they are, to understand them in the way they think and to shed your light of truth on those places where they need it. And when they shed the light of truth on my heart, help me not to run for cover but to courageously listen and adjust whatever you might be telling me through them. AMEN "It takes courage and love to really understand another person."

It takes courage and love to really understand another person.

Tuesday, January 1st, 2019!

“Go to your brothers and tell them that I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” John 20:17

Dear Father in Heaven, your Son called you my Father too. That means you treat me like you did Jesus. That means all of my life has meaning, even those things that seem meaningless to me, which by the way is an awful lot. Thank you for caring about me so much. Thank you for giving me challenges to go along with successes. Thank you for holding me up in those times I thought I was doing all the work. Thank you for loving me enough to correct me when I am wrong and to draw me back to your arms when I am wandering. Help more people to know that your only begotten Son has removed your justice so they can be your children too. I will try to help by telling them about you and Jesus. Now, I will charge out and meet the day you have given. Amen.

When you know God is behind you as a loving Father. you can take on the world.

Monday, December 31st

“And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God” Philippians 1:9-11

Dear Jesus, I want to grow in faith and love and discernment, so I can tell right from wrong in my heart long before I have to decide what to do. I want my life to reflect a righteousness that comes from faith and love and not from rules and policies. It is no longer good enough for me to do the right thing. I want to do the right thing for the RIGHT reasons. I want to want to do the right thing naturally. So make my love and faith grow by reminding me of you and your life inside of my life. Draw me back to your gospels and show me the way to live in my context and among my generation. Make me into a person who shows others what you are like every day without even a word. Amen.

To grow in love and the knowledge of God is worth our wholehearted devotion.

Sunday, December 30th

“Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21

Dear Jesus, On your day of resurrection you delivered the very thing we all long for, peace. You delivered peace with God the Father. Now I know he has reconciled himself to me by sending you. You have given me peace about my past. Now, I can see that you have been watching over the good and the bad to make me into the person I am today. I have peace about the present, you are with me and will help me with everything. I have peace about the future. It is all going to work out okay either in this life or the place you are preparing for me. I have peace! There is no other way to get this kind of peace apart from following you. And I love it! Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Now, who is it you want to send me to? I will gladly deliver your peace to whomever is ready to receive it.

“If someone says they have peace apart from Christ, they are either lying or woefully naïve about what they will soon face.”

Saturday, December 29th

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13

Dear Jesus, It is easy for me to get angry when I think I have a better idea than my family or coworkers and they just don’t recognize it. The more that time passes the more I am tempted to believe they are so foolish and hardhearted. But actually I see from this passage that sometimes I am the hardhearted, one. I am hardhearted to think that I can stew in anger and a surly spirit just because they do not see things my way. Help me Jesus. Help me to be peaceful and full of good deeds toward those who disagree with me while I wait for them to see it my way. And if I am seeing things wrongly, open my eyes to see it. Open my heart to accept the fact that I have been wrong and give me the strength to freely admit that I have ben mistaken. Amen.

He is wise who actively loves him who is a fool without frustration.

Friday, December 28th

“Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some fish.” John 21:6

Dear Jesus, you must have had a smile on your face that day after your resurrection when you let your disciples fish all day without one fish and then appeared on shore and told them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. They caught lots of fish and you caught their hearts forever. You have captured mine too. You control everything in my life, the “good” and the “bad”. Free me from the prison of thinking I am responsible for everything around me. I control very little and that which you have given me to watch for you- I barely know how to maintain. You put all my blessings in my net. To me you are greater than all your gifts. Help me to live in the joy of having you as Savior and God. Then I will smile at setbacks as much as breakthroughs. You send them both to bless me. Amen.

If Jesus leaves your net empty, don’t fret. He is making room for the other blessings.

Thursday, December 27th

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:20

What do I do with a Christmas gift that I really appreciate? Do I store it on some closet shelf out of sight? Do I hide it in a drawer along with other odds and ends? Or do I use it? And when I use it, do I think of the giver Do I perhaps tell others about it? That’s what many in our world do with Jesus once Christmas is past. They take their annual look at the Savior and then store him away someplace as they go back to the business of the living. That’s not what the shepherds did as they left the Savior’s manger bed. I don’t know how long they celebrated Christ’s birth. I would guess their joyous response was ongoing. For me too! What better way to say thanks to God than by teaching my family to lay their sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God. Or to tell my neighbors about the friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. Or to help reach the unbelievers with Christ, the true and only Light. God’s precious Christmas gift of the Savior is something I need every day So do others in my world.

Thank you Lord, for your most practical and precious gift of the Savior. Amen.