03/01 2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down – when we die and leave these bodies – we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
HOME
We are addicted to this life. We struggle to take our circumstances and place them in their proper perspective. We have a home in heaven. This home is waiting on our arrival. No matter how dismal the situation may seem or how unimportant we may feel, we count with Jesus. Those who have died in Christ and have preceded us to be with the Father are awaiting our arrival. They know the joy that awaits us.
03/02 2 Corinthians 5:2-3
We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies.
LIFE
Those of us in Christ are now living an eternal life. When we stand before Jesus we will be clothed differently than now-we will have a heavenly body. I don’t know what that means but I do know it will be beautiful and joyous. Jesus tells us that. Paul tells us that. The Holy Spirit testifying in our heart tells us that. We will be just like Jesus.
03/03 2 Corinthians 5:4-6
Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
STRANGERS
We are strangers just passing through this life. Be careful what roots you put down. Be extra careful where you place your trust and in what you place your trust. Everything around us except people is passing away.
03/04 2 Corinthians 5:7-8
That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
TODAY
Today we deal with problems and struggles. They are opportunities for growth but they also give us pause to think about that day when we will stand before the Lord. Then we will be home with Him. For now we continue as aliens and strangers serving Him. We are addicted to this body but in our hearts we know that we want to be with Him. Accept His peace and continue serving.
03/05 2 Corinthians 5:9
So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body.
SERVE
We aim to please. We live to serve. We know that He is in us and we are in Him. We also know that whatever difficulty we face the Lord will go thru it with us and indeed deliver us. Our life is joy because we have Him. Christ in us is our strength. Christ in us is our reason for living committed to Him and serving Him.
03/06 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies.
ENCOURAGEMENT
Encouragement comes from Jesus. He encourages us to be busy at work. We serve because He loved us and now we love Him. As we live and serve we need to be aware that this is not all there is. He will reward us. But for now that reward is simply a reminder of what is to come. We serve Him because He loves us and we love Him.
03/07 2 Corinthians 5:11
It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.
RESPECT
We have a deep abiding respect for the Lord. This respect reaches to the depth of our being. He is the Holy One. He is the creator of the universe. We are in His family as a gift of love. Our love for Him is always with an awareness that He is God and greatly to be feared and yet He loves us.
03/08 2 Corinthians 5:12
Are we trying to pat ourselves on the back again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart before God.
SINCERE
A sincere heart is open and humble before the Lord. Awareness that we are the created and He is the creator is of utmost importance. We cannot get ahead of God. He does what we He chooses to do. We choose to follow Him.
03/09 2 Corinthians 5:13-14
If it seems that we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Whatever we do, it is because Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live.
SURRENDER
We surrender our plans to Him. We live under His instruction. We do as He bids. We are the one that us under orders. Jesus is Lord and we are servants. My only source of strength is Christ.
03/10 2 Corinthians 5:15
He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.
COMPLETE
We are complete in Jesus. He has done it all. We have everything we need in Him. He gives us strength, wisdom, guidance and value. In Him we can do all things. Without Him we can do nothing.
03/11 2 Corinthians 5:16
So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now!
COMPLETE
Jesus is all and in all. He is the One that we follow. Without Him our ministry our work will not succeed. We cannot life a Christian life without His control. Jesus is God’s everything and He is everything to us.
03/12 2 Corinthians 5:17
What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
NEW
We are new creatures in Christ. He gives us a new heart. He gives us the Holy Spirit who will lead us in all things spiritual. We do not have to depend on our old ways our old wisdom. Jesus gives us access to His ways and His wisdom. In Christ we are able to overcome old limitations.
03/13 2 Corinthians 5:18
All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.
TASK
We are coworkers in Christ. He is Lord and Lord of us. Our new heart will willingly partner with Jesus in doing this new work that He has given us. Now we are about the Lord’s business. The task of sharing the Good News, Christ has saved us from our sin and given us the free gift of a new life in Him, is our new task.
03/14 2 Corinthians 5:19
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.
GOSPEL
The Good News is that God loves you and has done something about it. Jesus died on the Cross and was raised from the dead. His atoning death does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We cannot save ourselves and the Father’s free gift is forgiveness of our sin and new life in Christ.
03/15 2 Corinthians 5:20
We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!”
PARTNERS
We are joint heirs and partners together with the Lord Jesus. He lives in us and equips us to live a new life in Him. This new life enables us to serve the Father and promote His work here on Earth. He would that no one is lost and that we tell everyone about this saving work that Jesus has done.
03/16 2 Corinthians 5:21
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
GIFT
This gift that we are offered is right standing with the Father. Jesus has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. The Lord Himself has come seeking us. He loves us and died for us so that we might have new life in Him. Jesus unites us with the Father bringing us into the family of God. Once we were lost now we are saved.
03/17 2 Corinthians 6:1-2
As God’s partners, we beg you not to reject this marvelous message of God’s great kindness. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation.
NOW
Now we hear His voice, be saved. Now we have opened ourselves to Him, be saved. This may be the only time that we are willing to hear, the only time that we are open. Every time we close our ears it is just a little bit harder for us to hear. Now is the acceptable time of salvation. Ask Him to save you now and He will.
03/18 2 Corinthians 6:3
We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry.
OBSTACLE
What must I do to be an encourager? What must I do so that I will not be an obstacle blocking your sight of Jesus? It is important for us to remember that we are the conduit through which the Lord Jesus works. Lord help me to always point the way to you clearly.
03/19 2 Corinthians 6:4-5
In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food.
ENDURE
The watchword for you and me is that we are to endure. We live like Jesus and for Jesus so that He may be lifted up by what we say and do. The Victory is our endurance. He will work through us if we will let Him. He Word and work are conquering as we endure. Keep on. Do not give up. Jesus is Lord.
03/20 2 Corinthians 6:6-7
We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We have faithfully preached the truth. God’s power has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves.
JESUS
A life led by Jesus is a surrendered life. We cannot achieve spiritual goals by earthly means. Listen to the Lord. Obey His voice. Do what He says. It is easy to live a Christ filled life because Jesus loves you.
03/21 2 Corinthians 6:8-10
We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.
SERVICE
A servant serves. We serve the Lord of the Universe and He has called us to love one another. We give our love to others and forgive them of their wrongs against us. It is never a nose for a nose in personal relationships. Our love considers our enemies and seeks them out to do them good.
03/22 2 Corinthians 6:11-12
Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you. Our hearts are open to you. If there is a problem between us, it is not because of a lack of love on our part, but because you have withheld your love from us.
LOVE
Christians are required to love each other. We do not have the luxury of being petty or selfish-obedience to our Lord’s command to love one another is our call and it means us.
03/23 2 Corinthians 6:13-14
I am talking now as I would to my own children. Open your hearts to us! Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?
NOW
Now is the time we are to love. Now is when we change. Now is when we love our enemies and do good to them. Right now is our charge.
03/24 2 Corinthians 6:15-16
What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
ONE-WAY
The Christian Life is a committed life. We cannot live in the world and be a lukewarm Christian-there is no such thing. We live for Jesus or we live for the Devil. What we do and say, the friends we choose, the decisions we make all matter. The Christian life is a one-way life totally committed to Jesus.
03/25 2 Corinthians 6:17-18
Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
HOLINESS
When we give our heart to Jesus He gives us His Holiness. What makes us Holy is our separation from the world unto Jesus. We read God’s Word so that we will know how to live. We spend time with Jesus so that we will know Him better and be able to deal with ourselves.
03/26 Psalm 145:1-3
I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery!
PRAISE
We praise the Lord from our heart. He knows what we think and what we mean-no matter what our words say. When we spend time with Jesus the more that we know Him the greater our praise will be of the Father. To know Him is to praise Him. Jesus is worthy of all of our praise.
03/27 Psalm 145:4-5
Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.
TELL
Too often we do not tell our children of His mighty acts. Some of His greatest acts is how He changes us. Once I was blind and now I see. Relate to your family God’s mighty acts in your life. The best story of the Lord’s activity is a changed life.
03/28 Psalm 145:6-9
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy of your righteousness. The LORD is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of unfailing love. The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.
INCLUDED
You and I are included in His love. It says everyone and that includes me. Think about your life, how unique it is and how involved the Lord has been in your life. The Lord is concerned about you and He brings inestimable value and worth to your life. Praise the Lord for His meticulous care for each one of us.
03/29 Psalm 145:10-12
All of your works will thank you, LORD, and your faithful followers will bless you. They will talk together about the glory of your kingdom; they will celebrate examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
FELLOWSHIP
Together we can stand. Together we can grow. Together we worship. There are no lone rangers in the Lord’s Kingdom. We do things together, helping one another, encouraging and urging one another as we serve the Lord. He made us and He tells us that He made us for fellowship.
03/30 Psalm 145:13-16
For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule generation after generation. The LORD is faithful in all he says; he is gracious in all he does. The LORD helps the fallen and lifts up those bent beneath their loads. All eyes look to you for help; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
UNCHANGING
The Lord doesn’t change. You and I change. Sometimes we change from morning to night. We have certainly changed from that little child we once were. We change but Jesus never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
03/31 Psalm 145:17-21
The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. The LORD protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked. I will praise the LORD, and everyone on earth will bless his holy name forever and forever.
RIGHTEOUS
The Lord is righteous in all He does. Our view is tiny. Ages have been forgotten and much has eluded our purview. The actions of the Lord are always for our best interest because He is kind. His righteousness is beyond our ability to comprehend. We can trust the Lord because He is always good and kind.
