10/25               Psalm 78:34

34 When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously.

LORD

Jesus is Lord whether we accept that or not He is the Creator of the Universe and all things are under Him.  Cry out to Jesus, Lord Help Me!  He will. Repent (change your ways), recognize your great need and the Lord will bring you back!

10/24               Nehemiah 1:8-9

8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

RETURN

Do you find yourself a long way from the Father?  Claim His promise: “I will bring you back.”  He will, even if it appears to be impossible He will bring you back from your sin and sinfulness.  What do you need to come back?  Are you tired of the pain?  To be away from the Lord once you have come into His family is to suffer and struggle. There is great joy and peace in Jesus. Come on back to the Father.  Ask for His forgiveness and He will forgive you and bring you back close to Him. 

10/23               Deuteronomy 4:30-31

30 “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the LORD your God and listen to what he tells you. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.

ALWAYS

Our Lord Jesus is seeking us right this moment. When we come to Him and are saved He will never let us go.  It is tragic for His child to struggle and fail seeking to be self-fulfilled.  It is heart breaking to see all of their anguish and pain but Jesus is there to pick up the broken pieces and put us back together. He will never leave you.  There is nothing you can do will make Jesus desert you. You are ALWAYS HIS.  Jesus loves you.

10/22               Isaiah 26:9

9 In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right.

SELF

Man is caught up with self.  Emotionally we are too often sold out to the next great experience.  Greed is rampant.  Evil is overwhelming.  The world is going its own way ignoring God.  We who belong to Jesus struggle with the world and its demands.  Life is often unfair and we struggle with right and wrong and sometimes are overcome by evil.  When we are Christ is faithful to forgive us and get us back on the right track. When you are striving to follow the Lord and mature you will many times find yourself crying out to the Lord early in the morning.  Jesus loves you. 

10/21               Psalm 119:71

71 My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.

LAZY

We often are lazy in dealing with our spiritual disciplines.  Suffering gets our attention and takes us to the Father for growth.  We listen, sometimes cry out and always are able to benefit from a difficult time when we trust the Lord. 

10/20               2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

DIFFICULT

It is difficult to understand this until you experience first-hand what Paul is saying. Christians are just passing through this world.  Whatever hardship that is faced is met by their faith and the power of God.  He will see us through.  Sometimes we will suffer deep loss and deprivation which results in our growing in Christ.  To see the unseen God in our heart and mind equips us to know Him better and know from experience what Paul is declaring here: whatever we face the Lord is with us and the more difficulty we face the greater we experience His power in us. Life is hard but Jesus is always victorious. 

10/19               2 Corinthians 4:8-11

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.

CHANGED

A Christ follower is changed.  They have a new heart, a new mind, and they are saved into the Family of God.  They live to serve the Father by serving their fellow man.  They experience everything any person experiences but are beloved of God-HE is their Father and He cares for them.  Those of us who follow Jesus live from victory to victory.  The final victory has been won and we are living out the power of God in our daily life.  This world is passing away but those that name the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior are eternal.  In Christ we have light and life for living.  Jesus is Lord. 

10/18               Psalm 34:19

19 The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.

THINK

Think about your life. All the times the Lord has delivered you from the chaos and harshness of daily life.  The Lord has put a hedge of protection around you and if you will not spurn the Lord He will protect you.  Seek the Lord while he may be found, confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior. Christ is alive today and is indwelling the individual believer.  Don’t let the world and its minions overwhelm you simply keep your eyes on Jesus and do what He says.  He will protect you and deliver you from this present evil. 

10/17               John 21:18-19

18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

FOLLOW

As we live and minister it is always important to remember who we are following: Jesus.   It will be easy to keep our ego in check as long as we remember what we are doing and for whom.  I do this for Christ’s sake.  I do this for I am filled with desire to glorify the Father.  I do this because I am filled with the Holy Spirit and He compels me to share the Gospel.   

10/16               John 11:3-4

3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 

WHO

Who gets the glory? Jesus said it was done so that the glory would go to God.  As we seek to grow in Christ-likeness we would be ahead of the game if we begin to focus on the Father’s work.  He cares for you and everyone you know.  As you minister to others remember that the glory for our work belongs to the Father. We are telling the Good News and it all leads to Christ.