August 1, 2000 2Th 3:5
May the Lord bring you into an ever-deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.
I sought a deeper understanding of God’s love. He spoke to me when my heart was broken. I could feel His love. He loved me through His broken heart. He calls me to love with a broken heart.
August 2, 2000 1Ti 1:5
The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.
My life is composed of experiences. I contain all of the experiences that I have gone through. I don’t like some of the things I have experienced. God has often used those unwanted events to help me grow as His child. My love grows out of His love for me.
August 3, 2000 Isa 2:22
Stop putting your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. How can they be of help to anyone?
My big stumbling block is entrusting my future to man. Education, hard work, commitment and loyalty to the things that are outlined by society are sure fire ways to succeed. One day I will die. That date is unknown to me but known to God. My future is in his hands. Help me Lord to do all my planning with you first.
August 4, 2000 2Ch 13:10
“But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not abandoned him. Only the descendants of Aaron serve the LORD as priests, and the Levites alone may help them in their work.
I must live by the Lord’s standards if I am going to represent Him. There is a standard of Holiness that the Lord God has commanded. I am not free to do what feels good. I am called to do what is right. My challenge is always to do the next right thing.
August 5, 2000 Mt 25:44-45
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
Everyone wants to feel important. The Lord says that my job is to make sure that I respond to everyone as if they are as important as I am. People need love. Everyone I meet is worthy of my love.
August 6, 2000 Ps 5:2
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I will never pray to anyone but you.
I am learning that a healthy awareness of my own vulnerability to life is important. Rising early to greet the Lord enables me to claim the peace I will need for the days activities. Seeking His strength prepares me to face the unknown with strength. My God is in control. I can relax because He is in charge.
August 7, 2000 Heb 6:10
For God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians, as you still do.
God’s eye is always on me. He never forgets what I have done or what I need. I can face disappointment and failure with the sure confidence that the Lord will remember me.
August 8, 2000 Heb 10:24
Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.
Every person I meet needs an encouraging word. The Lord is teaching me not to be fooled by their status. Most people are hurting from the weariness of life. I can encourage them by being the Lord’s agent of encouragement.
August 9, 2000 Heb 13:1-2
Continue to love each other with true Christian love. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
God has called me to care for the people I come into contact with. It would be nice to care for movie stars or the rich and famous. Providentially the Lord has called me to reach out to co-workers, family, friends and all of those I come into contact with. I must bloom where I am planted not dream about another flowerbed.
August 10, 2000 Heb 13:5
Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.”
My worry is so often related to money. Will I have enough for this and enough for that? Now in my fifties, after never having missed a payment or gone without, I still worry about money. Satan has an inside track on me. I can believe in the miracle of healing but worry about paying the light bill. Never means never. Help me Lord to trust you with this month’s money worries.
August 11, 2000 Jas 2:5
Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?
I want to be rich in faith but I don’t want to be poor. Sometimes I am not willing to go to the school that teaches certain spiritual gifts. What I really want to do Lord is be what you want me to be. Help me to be me.
August 12, 2000 Jas 2:8
Yes indeed, it is good when you truly obey our Lord’s royal command found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
I am always checking what I am doing to make sure it is moral. I guard my speech even to the point of making sure I ask the Lord to help me watch what I say. I am meticulous in coming before the Lord every day. I must confess that my self-righteousness often creates in me a hard heart toward sinners. Lord plow up the hard ground of my heart so that I will love as you love.
August 13, 2000 Jas 2:12
So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free.
My good deeds today don’t offset being snappy or grouchy towards my wife or children. I must constantly check my frustration at the door before I enter my home. Everyone I deal with is due civility and kindness.
August 14, 2000 1Pe 1:8
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.
I love Jesus though I have not seen Him. My relationship is through the eye of faith. He has walked through the valley of the shadow of death with me. He has carried me through dark days and endless nights. My heart has been warmed by His care and concern. My Lord is here for me.
August 15, 2000 1Pe 1:22
Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts.
I can love you because I am loved. Your worthiness is based upon our relationship with the Father through the Son. I am His, He is mine and we are brothers and sisters. The love of God binds us together.
August 16, 2000 1Pe 2:17
Show respect for everyone. Love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God. Show respect for the king.
Every time I criticize a brother or sister in Christ I have three fingers of condemnation pointing back at me. I must forgive because I am forgiven. I must not judge for I am not wise enough to know all the circumstances of the situation. I must love because I am loved.
August 17, 2000 1Pe 4:8
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
My possessions, power or status mean nothing in eternity. I will spend eternity with people. People count. When I am caring for people I am making an eternal investment.
August 18, 2000 1Pe 5:14
Greet each other in Christian love. Peace be to all of you who are in Christ.
I want peace. When I am lying awake at 3 a.m. peace clears my mind so that I can go back to sleep. When I face impossible situations peace enables me to deal with the issues clearly. When I fail peace paves the road to recovery. When I succeed peace reminds me to be humble. Peace is a genuine blessing from the Father that equips me to live life in the now.
August 19, 2000 1 Pe 2:11
Dear brothers and sisters, you are foreigners and aliens here. So I warn you to keep away from evil desires because they fight against your very souls.
This is not my home. Neither my work nor my play is eternal. People are the only eternal things that I know. I must watch carefully how I live so that I don’t get things turned upside down. New cars, the top job, higher pay, fancy vacations, or world renowned venues are not eternal. I must carefully watch what I focus my life on so that my soul will be focused on eternal things.
August 20, 2000 2Ch 14:11
Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, “O LORD, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O LORD, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”
You are not alone. You were bought with a price. God will take care of you. You are the apple of His eye. Be encouraged and be blessed, the Lord of all creation is focusing His love and attention on you. Whatever you are facing God will be there to help you.
August 21, 2000 1 Pe 5:6
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in His good time He will honor you.
The bad things that happen in my life the Lord can use for good. My responsibility is to bend my knee in the presence of the almighty God of the universe and trust Him. Humble submission will permit the Lord to bless me with his love and guidance. Self-will separates me from the Lord. Humility unites me with the Father. Lord give me the wisdom to bend the knee to you in all things. Not my will but thy will.
August 22, 2000 Ps 7:9
End the wickedness of the ungodly, but help all those who obey you. For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.
When I am crying out against the wicked my heart accuses me of my own sin against God. My deepest yearning as I plea for help is, Lord cleanse me. My cries for help results in God calling me to go to the wicked and plead with them to come to the Him.
August 23, 2000 Ps 9:12
For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless. He does not ignore those who cry to him for help.
Help me Lord today. I spend too much time worrying about tomorrow. I need help this moment for this problem. My life always gets confused and overwhelmed when I recount my strength. Lord help me, a weak servant that gets off course so easily. I need the Lord right now.
August 24, 2000 Isa 1:17
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the orphan. Fight for the rights of widows
Sin defiles my soul. It affects every aspect of the way that I live. Part of my response to God for saving me is to diligently learn to do good. I am not living my daily Christian life for the world to watch. I am on mission for the Lord Jesus Christ. I am to become His arms and feet. I am to encourage as He encourages. I may be the only Jesus that many lost people ever see.
August 25, 2000 Isa 8:17
I will wait for the LORD to help us, though he has turned away from the people of Israel. My only hope is in him.
Many that name the name of Christ ignore the true and living God. They do it by their priorities, their lifestyle, their selfishness and their denial of His power in their lives. The result is that God ignores them and their lives give no evidence of the activity of the risen Lord. I am basing my life, my hope on Jesus. He saved me. He helps me. He disciplines me. I know Him. Time with Jesus is time well spent.
August 26, 2000 Isa 43:22
“But, my dear people, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me!
My God is not a God of just the big things. He is Lord of all. His concern touches everything that I think and do. Nothing in my life is outside the purview of the Father. I am His child and He is Lord of my life.
August 27, 2000 Mr 9:24
The father instantly replied, “I do believe, but help me not to doubt!”
Lord please help me as I struggle with unbelief in my life. Every time I express my confidence in you, unbelief beats at my door. Time screams it won’t happen. The day pushes me to try things my way. But Lord help me in the persistence of my unbelief to simple trust in you. At the appointed time I will see your victory.
August 28, 2000 Isa 59:16
He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his mighty power and justice.
I bend the knee before a Holy God. I recognize that He is talking about me. How often I stand quietly before the oppressed. Evil has its way. How Lord, can I stand against the oppressor? Without you Lord I would utterly fail. Praise the Lord for the salvation that He brings in Jesus. Not because of my work but because of His love.
August 29, 2000 Pr 3:27
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.
My neighbor deserves my best. Not because of his goodness but because of God’s love. My value is in Jesus. As a younger brother, I am called to care for people. All people. Any people.
August 30, 2000 Da 9:18
“O my God, listen to me and hear my request. Open your eyes and see our wretchedness. See how your city lies in ruins – for everyone knows that it is yours. We do not ask because we deserve help, but because you are so merciful.
My God helps me because He wants to. The Lord loves me. I have accepted that love by bending the knee before Him and asking Jesus to forgive me of my sin and come into my heart and save me. I am saved from eternal wandering. I am no longer dead in my sin, my Father has brought me into His family.
August 31, 2000 Lu 6:42
How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
My heart gets cold so quick. When I condemn my brother of his sin, at the same time I am concealing a greater sin in my own heart. The worst sins are always the sins that I don’t do. Jesus says that my sin is the worst sin that I can do. I am called to deal with my life and recognize the evil in my heart. Otherwise I will become a member of the religious crowd that focuses their lives on the things they don’t do and never recognize the evil they do. Help me Lord.
