4/1/02 Matthew Mt 27:64
So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
God’s plan is not sidetracked by my unbelief. God’s work will be done. His work will be done in the way that He directs. I can choose to follow the Lord. I can make a commitment to do His work. When I do, God will work with me to accomplish His assigned task.
4/2/02 1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”
I cannot fool the Lord. My character is not hidden from Him. He knows all about me. His knowledge of me is an encouragement. It means that the harsh things that happen do not surprise Him. I can have confidence as I serve the Lord that He knows my situation and me.
4/3/02 Mark 8:35
If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life.
When I get to age 65 I don’t want to look back on my life and say is that all there is? I want to serve the Lord. I want to hear Him say one day “well done thou good and faithful servant.” If I am going to accomplish that I must be about the master’s business today. Now is the time to prepare for tomorrow.
4/4/02 Mark 10:17
As he was starting out on a trip, a man came running up to Jesus, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what should I do to get eternal life?”
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Right then and for eternity. Salvation is a grace gift from the Father. It is not something I can work for or become good enough to win. It is a gift from God because He loves me.
4/5/02 Mark 10:29-30
And Jesus replied, “I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return, a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property – with persecutions. And in the world to come they will have eternal life.
I am not a free agent. My relationship with the Lord is that of a servant. The Father has a plan for my life. That plan includes serving others. Real freedom is found in submission.
4/6/02 Mark 10:45
For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
God stepped off His throne in glory. He came as the least so that I would know He loved me. I am valuable. I am loved. I can be the right kind of person.
4/7/02 Mark 16:8
The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk. Then they reported all these instructions briefly to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life.
I needed to be rescued from my sinful life. I am not alone. God loves me. His wonderful gift to me is eternal life and friendship with Him.
4/8/02 Luke 4:4
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People need more than bread for their life.’ ”
Life is uncertain. Changes come so quickly. I need to spend time with Jesus reading His Word. I need a quiet time with the Jesus every day. Most days I require several times with Jesus. He is my friend. He is closer than a brother. I need the Lord.
4/9/02 Luke 6:9
Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Is it legal to do good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing harm? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
I am called to care for others. The Lord will use me if I will let Him. People should be my first priority.
4/10/02 Luke 7:22
Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.
Jesus is God. No question about it. He came to rescue His creation. He has rescued me. How about you?
4/11/02 Luke 8:14
The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.
The Christian lifestyle is not easy. It demands that I live differently than the world. I am called to trust. I am commissioned to serve. Jesus is alive. He is alive in me. His life gives me life.
4/12/02 Luke 8:55
And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
Jesus commanded this woman’s soul to return to her body. She could take up her mortal life again. I want to make sure that I let Jesus have control of my life. He is the life giver.
4/13/02 Luke 9:7
When reports of Jesus’ miracles reached Herod Antipas, he was worried and puzzled because some were saying, “This is John the Baptist come back to life again.”
Jesus is the life giver. His followers experience the cares and worry of a dying world and get life. Jesus brings joy, peace, grace and love to people. He is light and in Him there is no darkness.
4/14/02 Luke 12:25
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not!
I was worried about my child at 2 a.m. I got before the Lord and expressed the concerns of my heart. He reminded me that He was also concerned. He hadn’t forgotten my child or me. I could trust Him. Laying aside worry is a hard thing to do. Sometimes I am afraid to lay it aside. Jesus helps me deal with my concern. He is enabling me to grow.
4/15/02 Luke 14:26
“If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
The Lord places a lot of value on my life. The key for me to unlock this value is a single-minded focus on the things of God. Family is important. I cannot overlook them. God is eternal and I must learn to live life through Him.
4/16/02 Luke 15:22-24
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
God is in the forgiving business. I must be willing to put aside my pride, agree with God about the way I act and purpose to change. In a daily quiet time I give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to identify my sin. I see it, I understand it, and I agree with God it was wrong. My heart is changed and my actions reflect the change. At the point of confession forgiveness happens.
4/17/02 Luke 15:32
We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!'”
I am new in Jesus. All of the old things that pull me down are set aside. I asked God to rescue me and I was birthed into the kingdom. Once I was dead in sin and now I am alive in Christ.
4/18/02 Luke 17:33
Whoever clings to this life will lose it, and whoever loses this life will save it.
My reason always gets me into trouble. The reason that reasoning is a problem is my humanity. I have likes and dislikes that have nothing to do with righteousness. As a general rule the thing that I reason in the midst of emotion is usually wrong. But when I get before the Lord and ask Him what to do the result will be His way. God’s way is always the right way.
4/19/02 Luke 18:18
Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good teacher, what should I do to get eternal life?”
I got eternal life when I asked Christ to forgive me of my sin, save me and then believed that He did indeed save me. Salvation is all of God and comes as a free gift. Acceptance of salvation is by faith in the goodness of God and power of Jesus Christ. He is Lord and has brought me into the family of God.
4/20/02 Luke 18:29-30
“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you, everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, as well as receiving eternal life in the world to come.”
God’s intention for my life is that I live as His child. There is a demand for me to be exclusive in my interest in the Lord. This exclusiveness is not isolation. I am called to balance my life and in that balance put God first.
4/21/02 Luke 20:36
And they will never die again. In these respects they are like angels. They are children of God raised up to new life.
Heaven will be a great place. One of the many blessings of being in the family of God is that by faith I can enjoy the benefits of heaven right now. I am valuable, my best friend is the most powerful person in existence and He has my best interest at heart. In the ups and downs of life I have an anchor. That anchor is Jesus Christ the Lord. He will not leave me nor leave me at risk. Wow.
4/22/02 Luke 21:34
“Watch out! Don’t let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth.
Loose and careless living is detrimental to the kingdom. I am called to be watchful. Death comes. I don’t know when it will for anyone. I need to deal honestly and carefully with my life and the way I respond to others. I cannot decide which act will be my last. I can decide that every thing I do will be proper and in order.
4/23/02 John 4:36
The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!
I want to have joy in my journey of life. This joy is the certainty that I am working together with the Father sharing His good news, freedom from sin and birth of a relationship with Him.
4/24/02 John 5:24
“I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
I am a child of God. It’s not something I aspire to, work for or win, He, the Lord has given me new life. This is one of His 7,000 plus promises in His Word. The Lord is good, all the time.
4/25/02 John 5:26
The Father has life in himself, and he has granted his Son to have life in himself.
It’s all of God. He is the one that came looking for me. The Son died for me and the power of God raised Jesus from the grave. That same power is effective in my life. I too am resurrected from the dead. I was dead in my trespasses and sin and Jesus saved me. He can save you too.
4/26/02 John 5:28-29
Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to judgment.
I am lulled into inaction by the humdrum activity of life. Night follows day, bills have to be paid, celebrations come and go and nothing seems to change. One day everything will change. Jesus is coming back and the Bible says that it will be soon.
4/27/02 John 5:39
“You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
The Word of God details how I should live. From Genesis to Revelation it consistently points me to Jesus. He is alive.
4/28/02 John 5:40
Yet you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life.
Jesus is my savior. He forgives me of my sin and takes me into the presence of the Father. He intercedes for me and makes me whole.
4/29/02 John 6:27
But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose.”
I am concerned about daily matters. I am often overly concerned to the point of anxiety. The Lord calls me to bring that concern and anxiety to Him. He will equip me so that I can live like His child should live.
4/30/02 Mark 7:20
And then he added, “It is the thought-life that defiles you.
What I think governs what I do. If I am focused on what I don’t have I will get depressed and feel bad about myself. If I focus on the opportunities that the Father gives me I can see my life through His eyes. God loves me. Every thought the Father has towards me are thoughts for good.
