4/1/03 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.”
I cannot wait upon the world to believe the way I believe. The lost are dead in their trespasses and sin. I must be about the business of living a Christ like life. Everything I say and do should honor and glorify the Lord.
4/2/03 Mark 6:14
Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because people everywhere were talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist come back to life again. That is why he can do such miracles.”
I am not spending my life looking for the next miracle. I am hungering and thirsting to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyday I carefully guard my time with Him. Everyday I make time with Jesus a priority.
4/3/03 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.
The world cannot evaluate my success. God has a plan for my life. His plan is the right plan. If I will do what the Lord has called me to do I will be successful.
4/4/03 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?”
Jesus is the only way to the Father. If I surrender my heart and life to Christ and ask Him to forgive me of my sin and save me He will. I can live my life with confidence knowing that the Lord is always faithful to do what He says He will do.
4/5/03 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 will gain in my relationship with Jesus. I will suffer as I serve the Lord. My gain will far outweigh my suffering for I will have a personal relationship with the Lord and will never be apart from the presence of Jesus.
4/6/03 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 loves people. I love the Lord. If indeed I love the Lord I will love those that the Lord has put me in the world with.
4/7/03 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 am a limited human being. There is so much I do not know or understand. Events are continually happening that surprise me. My limitations are not a limitation on God. Jesus knows all about me and is committed to me. I can trust the Lord even though I cannot see what will happen tomorrow.
4/8/03 Luke 4:4
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People need more than bread for their life.’ ”
I need the Lord. I need Him to lead, guide and direct me. I need Jesus to live an abundant life. I need the Lord so that I can do what He has called me to do. I need the Lord.
4/9/03 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 responsible for the way I think. The Christian life is a life that involves my total being. I cannot go through the form of Christian living if my heart is wrong. If my heart is right I will do the right things.
4/10/03 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 Lord. He is not just Lord when He helps me. He is Lord of all. I am to worship Him and adore Him. He is to be the focus of my life. I am to be busy building a close, personal relationship with Jesus.
4/11/03 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.
I am a worrier. There are a lot of reasons for this but the bottom line is that as I grow as a child of God I must learn to take my worry to Jesus. I can live with the assurance that Christ has heard me and will enable me to deal with the obstacles that I will face.
4/12/03 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 is never astounded by His power. The work of Christ in the minds and hearts of mankind is the normal activity of the Lord in His world. God can do anything including directing my life.
4/13/03 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.”
Herod was always seeking power. The Christian life is a life that is committed to serving the Lord and depending upon Jesus for power. Victory is won on my knees and not by human strength.
4/14/03 Luke 12:25
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not!
My worry will not change anything. My time with Jesus will change me.
4/15/03 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.
A Christ focused life will give me the kind of security that I am always seeking on my on. In Christ I have access to all of the resources of the Father.
4/16/03 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.
Sin separates me from the Lord. When I realize I have committed a sin my inner man wants to pull away from God. The Spirit of the Lord in me calls me to Him. I am grateful that the Lord is always looking out for me. Jesus is Lord.
4/17/03 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!'”
Sin blinds me to reality. The Holy Spirit unmasks my heart. Jesus forgives my sin. Forgiveness of sin brings great joy. Peace is the result. The Lord is seeking my best good.
4/18/03 Luke 17:33
Whoever clings to this life will lose it, and whoever loses this life will save it.
My time on earth is short. The Lord created me for a purpose and has a plan for my life. If I cling to the things I want I will miss the eternal opportunities that the Lord has designated for me. Now is the time for me to do the Lord’s work.
4/19/03 Luke 18:18
Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good teacher, what should I do to get eternal life?”
I am always weighing and grading the things I do. The Lord calls me to follow Him and do His work. He has given me salvation and now He simply asks me to give Him my heart.
4/20/03 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.”
Jesus will provide what I need. I can follow Him with the absolute confidence that Christ will not desert me. I belong to Jesus.
4/21/03 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.
Now I am limited by time, death and sin. When I go to be with Jesus I will have a resurrection life that will be significantly different than anything I can think or comprehend.
4/22/03 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,
Christ is coming back. I need to be ready for His return. What I am to do is important and valuable. Jesus is Lord.
4/23/03 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 am a partner with Christ in sharing the Gospel. If I value others I will share what Christ has done for me.
4/24/03 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 can have joy because I am free. I will not be condemned for my stupidity. I will not lose out by lack of vigilance. But I can develop a lifestyle of joy by staying close to the Lord.
4/25/03 John 5:26
The Father has life in himself, and he has granted his Son to have life in himself.
Jesus is the life giver. If I ask Jesus to forgive me of my sin and save me I have life.
4/26/03 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.
One day I will be accountable for my life. The choice that I make now will be the basis for my accountability. If I choose Jesus, He will stand for me in judgment and my verdict will be not guilty. If I stand alone I will stand guilty. Jesus is Lord.
4/27/03 John 5:39
“You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
Jesus is God’s everything. In Christ I have life. In Christ I have the guidance I need to live an abundant life.
4/28/03 John 5:40
Yet you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life.
It takes my time with Jesus to become like Him. I have to set aside the hustle and bustle of life daily. Daily time with Christ requires my vigilance and discipline. When I get to know Jesus I will know a lot more about myself.
4/29/03 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 the only one that can monitor what I think about. If I am constantly thinking about the Lord and His Word I will grow. Spending time with the Eternal Word will help me to keep a realistic perspective of my life.
4/30/03 Mark 7:20
And then he added, “It is the thought-life that defiles you.
Christ will fight the problems and difficulties I face each day. He will equip me to deal with my life. I must spend time with Jesus to have spiritual strength. I remind myself of this everyday.
