9/1 2 Kings 17:35-36
For the LORD had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. Worship only the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with such mighty miracles and power. You must worship him and bow before him; offer sacrifices to him alone.
WORSHIP
Think about Jesus. Place Him foremost in your thoughts. Every thought of fear or failure, of anxiety or defeat bring to Jesus. Discuss your plans with Him and ask Him which way you should go.
9/2 Psalm 121:1-3
I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber;
FOCUS
We will find victory in Jesus. He wants all of us. All of your fears and confidence, putting ourselves in His hands to lead, guide and protect. Our fellowship with Him results in friendship for living.
9/3 Judges 4:14
Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men.
FEAR
We can do what Jesus calls us to do. We are not at the mercy of our inadequacies. What ever we need to do what the Lord has called us to do He will give it to us. The word for us today is “Go.”
9/4 Luke 8:18
Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”
LISTEN
It takes time for us to listen to Jesus. We need to spend time with Him every morning and every night. The more time we spend with Jesus the better we get at listening because we soon run out of things to say.
9/5 Joshua 24:14
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
IDOLATRY
We must guard against making anything in our life an idol. The world is aggressive and is always seeking to trip us up. Be alert and on your guard. We must throw away our idols.
9/6 Judges 16:20
Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
ALERT
We are called to live life with care. We are to be on the alert for our own foolishness and the onslaught of evil. When we think we okay is immediately before the attack begins. Careful living requires that I spend time with Jesus, reading His word and talking with Him.
9/7 Psalm 122:1
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
CHURCH
We go to church because it is important for us to participate in corporate worship of the Lord Jesus. We go to church because it helps us grow. We go to church because the Lord has an appointment with us.
9/8 Exodus 20:1-3
Then God instructed the people as follows: “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. “Do not worship any other gods besides me.
IDOLS
What do you do that stands in the way of serving the Lord? You know in your heart what it is and you are often saddened by your continued abuse of your focus on Jesus. This too can be changed. Get before the Lord, confess your sin, accept forgiveness and restore your faithfulness in your relationship with Jesus.
9/9 Exodus 20:17
“Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns.”
VALUE
You are valuable to Jesus. Not your gifts or your wealth or any other thing that the world looks at as value-you count with Jesus. When you kneel before the Father, remember that He is waiting right now to hear from you.
9/10 Exodus 20:20
“Don’t be afraid,” Moses said, “for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power. From now on, let your fear of him keep you from sinning!”
REVERANCE
God is great, God is good. We belong to Him. Our love and recognition of His greatness and power calls us to obedience. Do not look upon your relationship as a sometime thing. You and I are important to Jesus and it is an all time thing.
9/11 Numbers 9:15-16
The Tabernacle was set up, and on that day the cloud covered it. Then from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle appeared to be a pillar of fire. This was the regular pattern – at night the cloud changed to the appearance of fire.
SIGHT
Our sight is one of faith. We see now only darkly but one day the magnificent light of the Lord will be displayed before our very eyes. As you keep a journal of your prayer time and time with Jesus be sure to write down your requests. You will see His presence as He is faithful in meeting your needs. The Lord will even surprise you as He turns what the world meant for evil into a blessing and strength. Be sure to “see” the Lord.
9/12 Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.
SECURITY
Our security is not from flesh and blood. Our security is in Jesus. He will not forsake us. He has won the victory and our life is lived in His victorious entourage. Rejoice and march, Jesus is in control.
9/13 Gen. 22:13-14
Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son. Abraham named the place “The LORD Will Provide.” This name has now become a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
NEED
We are confused by the difference between wants and needs. Our sinful nature spurs our wants. The heart of the Father is to meet our needs. Jesus will meet every need that we have.
9/14 2 Tim. 3:1-2
You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.
REALITY
The world never changes. It is always sinful, and always serving those interests that are in direct opposition to the Lord. Jesus loves us, is always interested in our best good. Let us look to Jesus and not be fixated on the world.
9/15 Acts 2:16-18
No, what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy.
PROPHESY
We are filled with the Spirit of God and are called to tell everyone about Jesus. Prophesy at its very basic meaning is simply forth telling. Tell everyone about Jesus.
9/16 1 Thess. 5:3-5
When people are saying, “All is well; everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman’s birth pains begin when her child is about to be born. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.
LIGHT
Darkness has no property. It is simply the absence of light. When we give our hearts to Jesus and focus our lives on Him we are constantly walking in the light. Spend time with the Lord now. One day we will see Him face to face and will spend eternity with Him.
9/17 Luke 24:1-3
But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.
FEAR
The women were afraid. Their love for Jesus overcame their fear. When we live a life devoted to spending time with Jesus we will also be able to face our fear and do the right thing. Jesus will calm our fears, strengthen our hearts and give us the wisdom we need to live an abundant life.
9/18 Luke 24:13-16
That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles out of Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. But they didn’t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him.
SIGHT
We want to see Jesus. We belittle ourselves about our fears and frustrations. Too often we think if only I. Jesus gives us the sight we need to do what only we can do. Rejoice because you are valuable to Him.
9/19 Psalm 42:21
I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and stand before him?
HOLINESS
The world burdens us. The world abuses us. The world seeks to separate us from those things that build our relationship with Jesus. When we know this and experience the reality of struggle that developing a consistency of Christ likeness in our lives causes our spiritual being cries out to see Jesus. You Lord are everything to us.
9/20 1 Corinthians 13:1
If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.
ACTION
What we do speaks louder than words. If I love I will change. If I love I will set aside my pride, ego and self-centeredness. If I love I will give the rude driver more room. If I love I will make others more important than myself. And when I do this I will grow and become the person I always knew that I would be.
9/21 Psalm 84:10-12
A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. For the LORD God is our light and protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will the LORD withhold from those who do what is right. O LORD Almighty, happy are those who trust in you.
TIME
Time distorts our view of life. The ravages of time destroy our bodies and work against our ability to serve. We are constantly on the alert to using our time well. But Jesus is in charge of time. His timing is never off. He will never forget where we are. He always knows what time it is.
9/22 2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down – when we die and leave these bodies – we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
HOME
Our home is waiting for our arrival. Our family members who have died in the Lord are waiting for us. There is no time in heaven and when we get there it will be as though we were always there. When things really spin out of control I remember about my home. We are sojourners and this place is not our home.
9/23 2 Corinthians 5:2-4
We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life.
AGING
None of us will age gracefully. Aging brings many unwanted changes. My prayer for each one of us is that we grow in Christ likeness. As we mature in Christ I pray that our maturity will be greater than our age.
9/24 2 Corinthians 5:5-7
God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. That is why we live by believing and not by seeing.
FAITH
Faith equips me for use. Faith conquers failure. Faith enables me to love the unlovely and to serve the ungrateful. Faith is my victory.
9/25 Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
CHRISTIAN
We will be known by the way we act. If we act like Jesus the world will immediately identify that we are different. Many times the world will respond negatively to us. Do not fear nor be downtrodden. Jesus conquered this world and so will we.
9/26 Matthew 5:14-15
You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all.
CHRISTIAN
Be who you are. Live like you should. Rejoice because Jesus lives. Remind yourself that you are a sojourner just passing through. Make sure that what you do reflects well on Jesus.
9/27 Hebrews 7:19-21
For the law made nothing perfect, and now a better hope has taken its place. And that is how we draw near to God. God took an oath that Christ would always be a priest, but he never did this for any other priest. Only to Jesus did he say, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.'”
JESUS
Jesus is God’s everything. He will deal with our problems. He will fix our spiritual being. He is seeking to have a relationship with us. He died for our sin. He loves you and me.
9/28 Mark 14:32
And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.”
CARE
Jesus thought about you there in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew your struggle with sin and the desperate need for forgiveness that each one of us has. He willingly shed His blood so that we might have life. Jesus leads us in His victory.
9/29 Titus 2:11
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.
GRACE
Grace works among us. It is the activity of God giving us what we need and cannot earn. We need grace every moment of every day. Jesus has enough grace to meet each one of our needs. It is given freely and of great worth. Grace is greater than all of our sin.
9/30 Matthew 5:3
“God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.
NEED
We are blessed when we know our need for Jesus. We need to be saved. We need to grow. We need grace and wisdom to deal with daily life. We need strength for the journey of life. We need joy so that we can recognize the value of our life.
