11/01/02 John 13: 34-35
(Jesus said): “I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
It’s the little things that trip me up. An unintended slight, or just lack of attention by another often causes my heart to bristle. Love is forgiving. Love says that the other person has my best good at heart. Life is real and so is my attitude. I choose.
11/02/02 John 15: 12-13
I command you to love each other in the same way I love you. And here is how to measure it— the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.
Forgiveness always costs. It is never easy. It is always profitable.
11/03/02 Romans 12:9-10
Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
You really count with God. You should count with me. What I do for you is the proof of how much you count with me.
11/04/02 Romans 13: 8-9
Pay all your debts, except for the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting—and any other commandment—are all summed up in this one commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
You are family. I am your brother. Your welfare is important to me. That includes physical and spiritual needs. If I really love you I will tell you about Jesus.
11/05/02 I Corinthians 13: 1-3
If I could speak with any language in heaven or earth, but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noises like a loud gong or a clanging symbol. If I had the gift of prophecy, and I knew all the mysteries, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and cause it to move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
Real love is sacrifice. I must be willing to sacrifice reputation, status and power to get you the Good News. Jesus loves you and has a plan for your life.
11/06/02 I Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Our society is rough and ready. Tough is cool. Pain is macho. I love you. Not based on how you respond to me. My love is based on the gift I have already received from the Father. Jesus is God’s everything.
11/07/02 2 Corinthians 7:10
For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret this kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death.
I want to be with Jesus. I want to be with Him so much that I am willing to change. I will set aside sin and self and spend time with the Lord.
11/08/02 John 6:37
(Jesus said) Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them
God wants you to be saved. Whatever you have done, wherever you are right now I want you to know that Jesus loves you. Jesus said whosever came to Him would be saved. Ask the Lord to save you and He will.
11/09/02 Philippians 2:13
For God is at work in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
Jesus is not pensively wringing His hands at my lack of wisdom or uninformed actions. Jesus has a plan for my life and is actively at work in me molding me into His image. I want to become more like Jesus everyday. Christ wants me to do that.
11/10/02 Philippians 3:12
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward the day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.
I will die if the Lord tarries. When I die the Lord’s plan for my life will be complete. I will step from this earthly plane into the presence of the living Lord Jesus. Come Lord Jesus.
11/11/02 1 Corinthians 13:5-6
Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
If I pay attention to what I am doing it is easy to know when I am off base. Tragically it is most of the time. I should suffer all, care for all and give to all. Help me Lord to wake up from this worldly sleep and serve you.
11/12/02 I Corinthians 13:7
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Jesus came for the whole world. You count. In Christ I can do all things and that includes never giving up on you. Each one of us has the attention of the Lord. He’s not lost or misplaced us. We are right where the Lord can help us.
11/13/02 Proverbs 12:1
To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.
The key to Godly living is careful planning. I am the one that sets my schedule. I am the one that chooses what I will do. I have just as much of the Lord in my life as I want.
11/14/02 Galatians 5:13
For you, dear friends, have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.
I was created to serve. I am at my best when I bend my knee. Humility and love are powerful allies.
11/15/02 Ephesians 5:3-4
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.
I must be different than the world. This difference enables me to serve and grow. Humility and love will push me into life. Pride and arrogance will separate me from service.
11/16/02 Joel 2:12
That is why the Lord says,” Turn to me now, while there is time! Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in grief; instead tear your hearts. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you.
I have everything I need in Jesus. Jesus is God’s answer to every problem I face. I can conquer fear, heartache, failure and any other created thing by the power of the living Lord in me.
11/17/02 Amos 5:14
Do what is good and run from evil—that you may live! Then the Lord God Almighty will truly be your helper, just as you have claimed that he is.
Discipline is important. I can only act like a child of God or a child of the evil one. This isn’t rocket science. I know when I need to change.
11/18/02 Matthew 3:2
Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
What I do with my life is a choice. Every choice I make has consequences. I will have a hard time breaking the habit of making bad choices. Consequences good or bad make up the life I will live tomorrow.
11/19/02 Genesis 1:27
So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them
God made me. God loves me. God will not leave me alone. God will fix the problems I face.
11/20/02 Genesis 2:23-24
“At last!” Adam exclaimed. “She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called ‘woman’ because she was taken out of a man.” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
God loves people most of all. He created man and woman to serve Him. I serve God by being myself. God will use me. I am one-half of my marriage. My wife is the other half. She is not more or less than me. We are equal and one. Together we praise the Lord.
11/21/02 Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love covers all offenses.
People don’t care how much I know. They want to know if I care about them. Love changes people and me. Love is the foundation for a good life.
11/22/02 Proverbs 17:9
Disregarding another person’s faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends.
I do not see my imperfections. I can see yours. It is in my best interest to learn to live with your imperfections.
11/23/02 John 13:14-15
(Jesus said) : “And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”
I can never repay my debt of love. I will discover great wisdom and unbeatable power taking on the role of a servant.
11/24/02 Matthew 9:13
Then Jesus added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.’ For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.”
I can never forget that I am a sinner. When I deal with people I must always remember to treat them the way I want to be treated. The ground at the cross is level. Jesus died for all of us.
11/25/02 Acts 17:30-31
God overlooked people’s former ignorance about these things, but now he commands everyone everywhere to turn away from idols and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.
The world is lost. Jesus is the way. He has saved me for eternity and for this day. I want to live each day with that eternal perspective. The Lord is victorious therefore I can live in victory.
11/26/02 Romans 2:4
Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?
Everything I do matters. What I think and say have consequences. I am important to the Father and my life is valuable. A life lived carelessly is an important life wasted.
11/27/02 James 4:10
When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.
The Lord has a plan for my life. It is a good plan that the Lord himself laid out. I can live my life with the full knowledge that I count and that what I do is important.
11/28/02 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins to him, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
I must deal with me. No one else can. If I am not going to be honest with the Lord and admit my sin, my life will be tentative and confusing. I will have no power and be at the mercy of the evil one.
11/29/02 Job 40:1
Then the Lord said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”
Satan prods me to question God. Has God said is at the beginning of every road of evil I have traveled. God is good. He is interested in me. The Lord Jesus died for me. He has a plan for my life. I can trust the Lord even when I don’t understand what is going on.
11/30/02 Isaiah 65:17
“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth-so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore.”
I am with the Lord. I have safety and peace with Him. I am not alone. The Lord stands with me and will never leave me alone. No matter what has happened the Lord is real. I am His number one interest.
