June 1, 2000 Eph 5:25-26
And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word.
How should I love my wife? I must be willing to sacrifice my life for her. In addition to being willing to die for my wife, I must be willing to live with my wife. She must be first in my life. Next to Jesus, my wife comes first. The way that I show her that I am living for her is to make sure that everything I do is as though I were doing it for myself. Loving my wife is the way I demonstrate how deeply I love the Lord.
June 2, 2000 Php 4:1
Dear brothers and sisters, I love you and long to see you, for you are my joy and the reward for my work. So please stay true to the Lord, my dear friends.
I find that it is easier for me to relate to machinery than it is to people. Machinery is predictable and fixable. People are different. They are difficult to understand and impossible to fix. But Christ came for people. He was concerned that each one of us know Him and through Him have forgiveness for our sin. Help me Lord to love people.
June 3, 2000 1Th 3:6
Now Timothy has just returned, bringing the good news that your faith and love are as strong as ever. He reports that you remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you.
Friends come into my life as a blessing from the Lord. When pain and anguish come, my friends are the first to offer comfort and encouragement. The Lord is good and perfect. The friends that he sends me always seem to minister to me at the right time. One must first be a friend to have friends.
June 4, 2000 Ps 33:18
But the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.
Thank you Lord for watching over me. In the midst of good and bad it is a blessing and encouragement to know that you watch over me. When I am tempted to sin I am reminded that you are watching over me and it gives me strength. In victory it helps me to keep my feet on the ground to know that you are watching over me.
June 5, 2000 Eph 6:23
May God give you peace, dear brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Strife and discord are conquered by the peace of God. God’s peace makes me grateful when I am overwrought and misdirected by the chaos of life. His peace calms my fears and gives me renewed strength.
June 6, 2000 Eph 6:24
May God’s grace be upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
My home and my church are difficult places to live the Christian life. Family members and church members know I am human. So many times my real self comes through. God’s grace ministers to my heart and enables me to be the kind of person that God created me to be. Thank the Lord for his wonderful grace.
June 7, 2000 Ps 33:22
Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.
I am not hoping in a strong dollar. My life does not revolve around a strong stock market. I am totally sold out to live my life based on the unfailing love of the Lord. He loves me and has my best good at heart.
June 8, 2000 Php 1:8
God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
I have friends scattered around the world. I miss Rick and his family on mission in West Africa. I miss Greg and his family who minister in Israel. I miss Doc who now lives in Texas. And the list is lengthy. Some of my friends have moved to other states, some I’ve moved away from but all Christian brothers. One day we will be together in eternity. But for now, I really miss them from the bottom of my heart. Thank you Father for these wonderful friends. Please bless them while we are apart.
June 9, 2000 Php 1:9
I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding.
I pray for a long list of people each day. I pray that friends will be protected and blessed. I pray that the Lord will bless those that are not friends. I pray for the lost people that I know that God would save them. Everyone needs prayer. Put each person you know on your prayer list.
June 10, 2000 Php 1:16
They preach because they love me, for they know the Lord brought me here to defend the Good News.
The Lord uses people. He is so faithful in using me. I am often amazed when he takes my feeble work and blesses it. I am weak but he is strong. He wants me to be faithful in serving Him.
June 11, 2000 Ps 37:37
Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future lies before those who love peace.
I am cautioned by the Lord to be patient in well doing. At the proper time He will bless my work and me. God has a timetable. My job is not to determine His timetable but instead I am to do His work.
June 12, 2000 Php 2:1
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic?
I minister for the Lord. I am required to remember that God is the audience. I work for Him and always in His sight. I care for others not because they have been kind to me but because Christ gave His life for me. I am under orders and well equipped to serve where the Lord puts me.
June 13, 2000 Php 2:29
Welcome him with Christian love and with great joy, and be sure to honor people like him.
I always fail when I try to judge others. God calls me to love people not judge them. My heart is unruly. God’s love controls my heart.
June 14, 2000 Eph 5:28
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife.
I love my wife. The longer we are together the more my love grows. She ministers to me when I am down. She rejoices with me in victory. Over and over she encourages me to serve the Lord. I think that I have the best wife in the world. She is perfect for me.
June 15, 2000 Ps 31:23
Love the LORD, all you faithful ones! For the LORD protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes all who are arrogant.
I always get in trouble when I get ahead of God. The situation looked so simple. The timetable was moving so slow. I tried to hasten the work and everything fell apart. Immediately I went before the Lord and cried out for help. Only when I refuse to bend the knee does disaster strike.
June 16, 2000 Col 1:3-4
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus and that you love all of God’s people.
Christ Jesus is my only hope. He alone is the way of salvation. In Christ we pray for others. In Christ we minister to others. Without Jesus I can do nothing.
June 17, 2000 Col 1:7-8
Epaphras, our much-loved co-worker, was the one who brought you the Good News. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place. He is the one who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
People count. When I forget the people that are actively involved in my life the Holy Spirit will nudge me to remembrance. When I love Jesus, I love people.
June 18, 2000 Col 2:2
My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God’s secret plan, which is Christ himself.
I like secrets. I want to be first on the list when things are told. I know a secret. Jesus is God’s everything. Now you know it too. Anything in my life that needs fixing Jesus is able. All of the power and resources of God are available to me in Jesus Christ.
June 19, 2000 Ps 59:17
O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.
Experience is a harsh taskmaster. I have had close acquaintances that for one reason or another became former friends. They no longer have the kind feelings for me that they once had. The tragedy is that I am probably the cause of their change of allegiance. When I sin against the Lord, He still loves me. I can go to him in repentance and still be loved and encouraged. But there are times when I go to Him without realizing my need for repentance and His love does not fail. God loves me because I am his child.
June 20, 2000 Col 3:14
And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.
I fail miserably at many things but I can love. My love releases peace in my heart and puts grace in control of my life. Love can mend my broken heart.
June 21, 2000 Col 3:19
And you husbands must love your wives and never treat them harshly.
I have aged to the point where I am finally beginning to realize the tremendous value of my wife. Her value far exceeds her weight in diamonds. I am training my self to measure my responses with a realization of her value and contribution to my life. My wife is the key to most of the success that I experience.
June 22, 2000 Ps 40:10
I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness.
I learned a long time ago that if I kept my eyes focused on Jesus and developed a close relationship with him I would be a good witness. When I tell folks about Jesus I am simply telling them about what I am experiencing. If you are having a hard time witnessing, go back to Jesus and ask Him to let you experience Him in your daily life. When you do, witnessing will become second nature. Tell folks about your best friend.
June 23, 2000 Eph 6:10
A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power.
Satan is seeking to devour me. I know it. I experience it. The power of God rescues me. Everyday when I wake up, my immediate prayer is Lord help me today.
June 24, 2000 Ps 36:7
How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
My background is such that I have a habit of measuring everything. I seek to think and express myself in evaluative ways. God’s love is immeasurable. It is enough to encourage me in my failure. It seeks me when I am in despair. It never fails. I belong to Him.
June 25, 2000 Ps 36:1
Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them.
I have discovered that my heart will lead me into sin. It is deeply inclined towards self gratification and self fulfillment. Self so easily rules my heart. But the Lord faithfully touches me when I am going my own way and reminds me that He is in charge. He quiets the whispers in my heart and redirects my path. Thank you Lord for holding onto me.
June 26, 2000 1Th 3:12
And may the Lord make your love grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love overflows toward you.
My love grows day by day. Things that I once ignored, the Lord is bringing to my heart. Weeping for the lost is making an entrance in my life. Hurting for the helpless is a new experience. Love is an action that when shared grows and grows.
June 27, 2000 1Th 4:9
But I don’t need to write to you about the Christian love that should be shown among God’s people. For God himself has taught you to love one another.
I cannot deny the example of love that Jesus taught. He loved those that hated him. He forgave the Romans who crucified Him. He prayed for the religious who vilified him. Help me Lord to grow in Christ.
June 28, 2000 1Th 4:11-12
This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before. As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others to meet your financial needs.
I must be faithful on a daily basis to do everything I do as unto the Lord. I am accountable for my skills and my gifts and must seek to use them to the fullest for the Lord.
June 29, 2000 Ps 31:15-16
My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. Let your favor shine on your servant. In your unfailing love, save me.
Have you ever struggled with waiting on God? That seems to be another of my greatest weaknesses. God knows my needs. He is aware of my difficulties. He has a plan. Help me Lord to not only say I believe this but to work this out in my life.
June 30, 2000 Ps 32:10
Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.
God will work out His blessings, plans and good things in my life. If I will bend the knee of control to him I will experience His loving hand on my life. If I do not bend the knee to the Lord, I will experience the frustration of life that all pagans experience. God is in control. I need to let Him have control of me.
