6/1 Mark 4:18-19
The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for nice things, so no crop is produced.
LIFESTYLE
Christ rules me or I rule myself. There is no partial rule in the spiritual realm. This is confusing to many that claim Jesus as Lord. They attempt to live in the world and unto Jesus. I can only serve one master. I choose to serve the Lord.
6/2 Matthew 4:4
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.’ ”
FOCUS
The real solution for the problems that I face is Jesus. I need to focus my life on Christ. I will know Him better by spending time with Him. The Word of God tells about Jesus. The more I know the Word and put it to work in my life, the better I will know Jesus.
6/ 3 Matthew 6:25
“So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing?
FOCUS
This is not a call to laziness. The Lord wants me to focus my energies on Him as I seek to live the life plan He created for me. Hard work, faithfulness in relationships and a surrendered life are called for.
6/4 Matthew 6:27
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.
FOCUS
This world is not my home. I cannot spend my time getting comfortable and ignore the opportunities of service. People count most with the Lord and all around me are people who need help not worry. What I can do is what needs to be done. Jesus is my sufficiency.
6/5 Matthew 7:14
But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.
SURRENDER
Life is a gift. The road that the Lord has called me to travel is a gift. If I will surrender my life to Jesus and listen to His guidance I will journey on the road of life. Victory is achieved in surrender.
6/6 Luke 9:24
If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.
SURRENDER
Jesus said that He brings life to me in abundance. The Lord is not sharing the stage with me, where I do all I can and then he completes it. He would that I work together with Him to accomplish His work. I am the servant.
6/7 Luke 10:25
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”
ETERNAL LIFE
The Bible says that “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:13). This is dramatically different than what our culture and the world says. Salvation is a gift that I can accept. I have.
6/8 Luke 11:36
If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you.”
GENUINE
My faith isn’t something I only exercise when I need something from the Lord. My faith is central to all that I say and do and think. Therefore, whatever the situation I am in my faith will shine through.
6/9 Luke 12:15
Then he said, “Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own.”
WEALTH
Where will I place my value? What is important in this world to me? What I do with my money is a significant indicator of this. Generosity flows out of the strength of my relationship with the Lord. What I believe I will practice.
6/10 Luke 12:22
Then turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food to eat or clothes to wear.
WORRY
I can choose to live my life as a worried basket case. But, I can also choose to live my life with focus and confidence in the Lord Jesus. Christ is my life. He is concerned about every aspect of me life. In hard times He will not leave me. In good times He will keep me from foolishness.
6/11 Luke 12:23
For life consists of far more than food and clothing.
LIFE
I am God’s child, His ambassador, a representative of the Lord God and a partner with Jesus in this world. There is much work to be done. Everywhere there are people in need. I need to make sure that everyone I know knows about Jesus. That is my life.
6/12 Mark 3:4
Then he turned to his critics and asked, “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?” But they wouldn’t answer him.
PEOPLE
People count most with Jesus. Christ died that all might be saved. His resurrection from the grave to the right hand of the Father insures that everyone might have the opportunity to accept salvation. Because Jesus is alive I can have life.
6/13 1John 2:9
If anyone says, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.
FORGIVENESS
I am required to develop a forgiving heart. It does not come natural to anyone although it seems to be easier for some than others. I forgive others because I am forgiven.
6/14 John 1:4
Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.
LIFE
The Christian life is a call for me to serve the Lord by serving people. Surrender to service is a natural result of living my life with Jesus. Jesus in me is easy for others to see.
6/15 John 3:6
Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.
LIFE
What I think of as life is just an existence. The Holy Spirit brings real life. I am alive in Christ and part of the family of God. The Father shares his plan for my life with me through Christ. Jesus resides in me. I am not alone. Eternity begins.
6/16 John 3:14-15
And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.
CRUCIFIED
Jesus was crucified for me. All sin is personal and it was my sin that required His death on the cross. Jesus atoned for my sin and saved me. Each one of us is a sinner and Christ died for us individually. He knows each one of us personally and completely. He died that you and I might have life.
6/17 John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
SALVATION
I have no excuse. God’s gift of life in Christ is for me. I am responsible. If I accept Christ as my Lord and Savior then I am saved. If I refuse Christ I continue to be lost. No middle ground. The gift of life is available for me.
6/18 John 3:36
And all who believe in God’s Son have eternal life. Those who don’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them.”
SALVATION
There is no middle ground for me. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I was a sinner dead in my trespasses and sin. I asked Jesus to save me. I accepted God’s gift of eternal life. If I had refused His gift I would have continued in my sin. Jesus said that He was the only way to the Father and that there was no other way.
6/19 John 4:14
But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
ETERNITY
I accepted Jesus as Lord and will always be saved. Christ lives in me. His life gives me life that is renewed daily forever. That doesn’t seem big but it is bigger than anything I can think of. Forever is a wonderful thing.
6/20 Matthew 9:18
As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt down before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand upon her.”
FAITH
Faith is the daily experience of time with Jesus, listening to what He says and then living based upon His direction. Faith is an action. It is the way I live in light of the promises of the Lord. Jesus is able to deal with my life and because of that I can grow each day in Christ.
6/21 Matthew 10:39
If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.
COMMITMENT
Jesus is first. He is first in all I think and say and do. When I make Christ first in my life He will take responsibility for my life. I cause problems by trying to direct my own life. Jesus makes life work.
6/22 Matthew 11:5
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.
GOOD NEWS
Jesus is alive. He is alive and offers you and me the gift of life. If I accept His gift I am in the family of God. Jesus will live in me to equip and enable me to live a Christ like life.
6/23 Matthew 13:22
The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced.
GOOD NEWS
Life is a choice. The Lord did not make us robots. I choose what I will do moment by moment each day. When I hear the Good News I can accept the gift of eternal life in Christ. From that moment on I can make the choice to follow Jesus. If I spend time with Jesus and do what He says I will grow in Christ likeness. If I don’t spend time with Him I will never develop into the image of Christ. My choice.
6/24 Matthew 14:2
he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist come back to life again! That is why he can do such miracles.”
BELIEVE
I can choose to believe Jesus or deny His power. The tragedy is that so many Christians listen to the world and by not believing literally stop the miraculous activity of the Lord in their daily life. Choosing to trust Jesus changes the way you see everything.
6/25 Matthew 16:25
If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.
DISCIPLESHIP
I need to focus on Jesus everyday. It will take me all of my life until the day I go to be with Him to be what Jesus wanted me to be. His plan for me is perfect. My life lived for Him will be exactly what Jesus wants.
6/26 Matthew 19:16
Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good things must I do to have eternal life?”
GIFT
I cannot earn my way into the family of God. A relationship with Christ is God’s gift to me. I claim the gift of eternal life in Christ but I cannot earn my way into heaven.
6/27 Matthew 19:17
“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “Only God is good. But to answer your question, you can receive eternal life if you keep the commandments.”
SALVATION
God loves me. God is good. Both of these things are beyond my ability to do or grasp. God’s love is a miracle. God’s goodness never changes. God is good.
6/28 Matthew 19:29
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will have eternal life.
SACRIFICE
Living the Christian life involves sacrifice. I willingly do what the Lord has called me to do and in so doing experience much sacrifice. Sacrifice includes suffering. The Lord will stand with me in sacrifice and suffering and will more than make it up to me what I have given up and sacrificed for Him.
6/29 Matthew 20:28
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.”
SERVICE
I was created to serve. Giving and serving completes me. Inside of me is an inner mechanism that is only fulfilled by my growing in my ability to serve and my willingness to give. I will not limit my spiritual growth by being self-centered or stingy.
6/30 Matthew 21:32
For John the Baptist came and showed you the way to life, and you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to turn from your sins and believe him.
REPENTANCE
There are no grandchildren in the family of God. I must come to Jesus and repent of my sin, ask Him to save me and accept His gift of salvation. This is a problem for the world. If I permit the world to control me I will never be saved.
