04/01 Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life – the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals.” So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.
VALUE
I must learn to balance my life. Sin is a problem but I must also see the value that God places on me. Christ died for me. Balance comes when I spend time with Jesus.
04/02 Genesis 2:15
The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it.
WORK
Hard work is important. I have within me a need to excel. Again, balance is required but I must be about using the skills the Lord has given me. Hard work is an essential element in successful Christian living.
04/03 Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. “Really?” he asked the woman. “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?”
QUESTIONS
Asking the right question is important. Too quickly we want to cover up our sin and blame someone else or something else for our own actions. What I do counts. Do the next right thing.
04/04 Romans 5:12
When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
SIN
I will not excuse my sin. Sin separates me from the Father. The daily Christian walk involves dealing with my sin. Each day I will seek the Lord’s wisdom on sin in my life. As Jesus reveals my sin I will seek forgiveness and change my ways.
04/05 Galatians 5:17
The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.
CONFLICT
Sin is always at the door. I am responsible for what I think and do. Without the power of God in my life I will not be able to combat sin. Spending time each day in the Word of God and submitting myself to the control of Christ will sensitize me to sin and enable me to change. When I focus on Jesus I can effectively fight sin in my life.
04/06 Colossians 3:5-8
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God’s terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.
RESPONSIBILITY
I am responsible for the way I live. The Christian life is a journey of change. I am to change the way I am and become more like Jesus. If I am the same today that I was last year I am not a growing Christian. The more I know Jesus, the more willing I am to change. Yes change is difficult but Christ died for me therefore I must be willing to live for Him.
04/07 John 3:6
Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.
LIFE
I was dead in trespasses and sin and Christ saved me. He gave me life. This life is the power of God living in me. I am no longer a slave to sin. I have a choice. I can willingly choose to grow and become like Jesus. I know this: when the power of God came into me and gave me new life I was a changed person.
04/08 1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you were not a people; now you are the people of God. Once you received none of God’s mercy; now you have received his mercy.”
CHRISTIAN
I am a member of the family of God. He is my Father and Jesus has saved me. I will never be excluded from the family of God. Jesus is God’s everything and He has completely and eternally saved me.
04/09 1 Corinthians 1:2
We are writing to the church of God in Corinth, you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere – whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs.
SALVATION
Salvation is a choice. I chose to accept Christ as Lord and Savior of my life and Jesus saved me. Two significant points here, one is that a person can refuse salvation. I don’t understand this but it is true. Second, if you ask Jesus to save you He will.
04/10 Colossians 3:12
Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
CHANGE
I must change. I am not permitted to remain the same. As I live with my focus on Jesus I will become more like Jesus. The world and the world’s attitudes will try to mold me into its shape. That is why I need to spend time with Jesus every day. Christ is my master.
04/11 Hebrews 10:10, 14
And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy.
SALVATION
What Jesus did for me gives me value and worth and the ability to live a life of inestimable importance. People count most with Jesus and the process of growing in Christ will change me into a person that loves people. I will care for those with whom I live. I will care for those that I meet at work and play. I will begin to see people the way Jesus sees them. Every single person I meet is an object of the love and mercy of the Lord. In Christ I will develop this attitude also.
04/12 Ephesians 4:7
However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.
GIFTS
The world only values certain gifts. The Lord values the gift or gifts that He gives each one of us. Jesus has a plan for my life and He has given me the gifts that I need to accomplish His plan. I must be careful that I do not permit sin to get my eyes off of the Master’s plan.
04/13 Romans 12:6-8
God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
LIFE
I live my Christian faith before a watching world. I must be real and must be willing to be myself. People know when I am a fake. I am valuable in God’s family when I am myself and do the things that only I can do. Additionally, I want to cultivate the willingness to bless all of those I come into contact with.
04/14 Isaiah 43:1
But now, O Israel, the LORD who created you says: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
OWNERSHIP
I belong to the Lord. I am under His watch care. The Lord will equip and train me to serve Him. His presence will bring peace and joy into my life.
04/15 Romans 5:8
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
LOVE
It is hard for me to comprehend the love that the Lord has for me. Jesus knew all about me and still He died for me. He knew my past, present and future and still He called me. I am striving each day to know Jesus more. The more I know Him the more I realize how much Jesus loves me. We are miracles of God’s creation and are created to have companionship with a Holy God. WOW.
04/16 John 15:9-10
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love.
OBEDIENCE
My growth, my strength, my joy depend upon my willingness to obey the Lord. I cannot grow in Christ if I seek to hide things from God. Trying to figure out how to live on the edge or how to hide that secret sin totally destroys my strength. Failing to listen to Jesus with an obedient heart removes my joy. It is important that I surrender my heart and obey the Lord each day. Jesus is Lord.
04/17 John 17:21-23
My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father – that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are – I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me.
FAITH
My responsibility is to believe that the Lord will be active in my life. Pleasing Christ is a result of my recognizing His promises, living my daily life based upon His revealed will and being obedient to what Jesus says. I can only do this by living by faith.
04/18 1 Peter 2:5
And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are God’s holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.
SACRIFICE
I am called to sacrifice. I must be a tither. Tithing is a first step of obedience. I can control what I spend and the Lord looks to me to control this. I must pray. I must spend time with Jesus. I must read God’s Word. I must learn how to love the unlovely and this is a lifetime journey. So many things are involved in our spiritual sacrifices but Jesus will guide us if we will obey.
04/19 John 6:37-40
However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life – that I should raise them at the last day.”
JESUS
Satan will do all he can to get my attention. He will work on my emotions and seek to destroy balance in my life. I am a child of God. I need to avoid filling my life with the world and instead fill it up with Jesus.
04/20 Ephesians 2:1-2
Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
SALVATION
I have been saved by the work of the Lord Jesus in my life. He died for me. He called me. I accepted. What others do about salvation does not affect my relationship with the Lord. I am only responsible to tell what Jesus has done in my life. I am not responsible for how another person responds to Christ.
04/21 James 4:7-10
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.
SIN
I do not have to sin. Every time I sin it is my choice. This is a great tragedy and underscores the magnitude of the sin issue. When I sin I can go to Jesus for forgiveness and reconciliation. In Jesus I have the power and strength of God alive in me to resist sin. He will put me back on the right path.
04/22 Psalm 92:11
With my own eyes I have seen the downfall of my enemies; with my own ears I have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.
SECURITY
Jesus in you I have success, sustenance and security. You have provided me with everything that I have. Nothing can come between me and You. You give me the grace and strength that I need to survive and thrive.
04/23 Jude 1:24
And now, all glory to God, who is able to keep you from stumbling, and who will bring you into his glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy.
JOY
I choose joy. The Lord Jesus lives in me and He will give me joy. He will refresh me and encourage me. When I am discouraged or distraught the Lord will change my emotions from despair to delight. The Lord is my Shepherd.
04/24 Ephesians 1:19-20
I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
POWER
I serve a risen Savior who knows all about me. Jesus knows my needs and my weaknesses. He is ready to work with me to help me grow. Jesus is waiting for me to spend time with Him and let Him have control of me. When I give Jesus control He gives me what I need so that I can live victoriously. Jesus is the lover of my soul.
04/25 Ecclesiastes 8:6-7
Yes, there is a time and a way for everything, even as people’s troubles lie heavily upon them. Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen?
KNOWLEDGE
Jesus knows what is going to happen in my life. He will equip me to face life with joy in my heart and victory in my soul. I can trust Christ for everything in my life and He will never fail me.
04/26 1 Corinthians 2:15-16
We who have the Spirit understand these things, but others can’t understand us at all. How could they? For, “Who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who can give him counsel?” But we can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
JESUS
Jesus is God’s everything. I can trust Him to lead me in the right direction. When trouble comes Jesus will lead me through it. His counsel is wise and His course is correct. Jesus is Lord of all things including me.
04/27 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
We are human, but we don’t wage war with human plans and methods. We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds. With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ.
WAR
The evil one is always looking to cause me trouble. I cannot see into the spiritual realm and do not know what he is planning next. Jesus knows exactly what is going on and will give me the guidance and strength I need to engage in spiritual warfare. The enemy is unrelenting and Jesus is all powerful. In Christ the spiritual battle is a battle I can win.
04/28 Jeremiah 17:9
“The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
HEART
I wish I was not so easily deceived. The flesh is always pushing me to demand my way, feel insecure, take offense, be rude, and sin in many other ways. I am not at the mercy of my own weakness. The Lord is a strong tower and He will enable me to deal with my own weaknesses every day. I need to spend time with Jesus. Time with Christ is a habit that will strengthen me to face real life.
04/29 1 Corinthians 10:31
Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.
LIFE
I belong to the Lord. Jesus is my master. He is in charge of everything. All that I say and do should come under His authority. The problem is that I think I can do some things and then in the flesh bull my way through a situation. When I thoroughly mess up the situation only then do I call for help. It would have been much better if I had sought help and guidance first. Jesus is Lord.
04/30 Galatians 5:22-23
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
FRUIT
I have to remind myself that the fruit of the Spirit is singular. It isn’t a pick and choose what I like best it is an all in one mindset. When Jesus is in control I respond with the fruit of the spirit. This is the evidence of His control not the individual aspects of my own spiritual maturity.
