01/28 Psalm 139:1-12
1 For the choir director: A psalm of David. O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. 3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. 5 You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know! 7 I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night — 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.
YES
God knows everything. You cannot escape His purview. He will not forget you. He has a plan for your life. Do not fear for the Lord is near.

01/27 Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Listen to me, all of you in far-off lands! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name. 2 He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver. 3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.” 4 I replied, “But my work all seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” 5 And now the LORD speaks — he who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring his people of Israel back to him. The LORD has honored me, and my God has given me strength. 6 He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” 7 The LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by a nation, to the one who is the servant of rulers: “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will bow low because the LORD has chosen you. He, the faithful LORD, the Holy One of Israel, chooses you.”
PLAN
You are God’s plan. Christ died for you and by the power of God was resurrected from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for you. You are the one that Christ expects to care for the hurting. You are one who will proclaim the Good News. Christ through you will heal the hurting and proclaim salvation to the lost. You are God’s plan.

01/26 Matthew 25:34-35
34 Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.
ACTION
Action speaks louder than words. If you love the Lord you will learn to be His hands and feet. People know who we are by the way we act. Love cares for others. Love sets aside personal prerogatives. Tend to the Lord’s work. Care for people.

01/25 James 2:14-19
14 Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well” — but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all — it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” I say, “I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.” 19 Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror!
FAITH
Our faith is expressed by our actions. Strong faith is forgiving and merciful. Growing faith cares for others. Jesus like faith proclaims the Gospel-GOOD NEWS- to everyone in need. Everyone we meet is in need. Love the Lord by caring for people. People count with Jesus.

01/24 James 2:10-13
10 And the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11 For the same God who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” So if you murder someone, you have broken the entire law, even if you do not commit adultery. 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. 13 For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then God’s mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you.
MERCY
Mercy begins at home. Our family deserves our best and without mercy we cannot give them our best. Mercy is required as we become more like Jesus. Remember the only person you can change is you. People need us to care for them not try to change them. Mercy is critical for us to be able to glorify God by the way we live.

01/23 James 2:8-9
8 Yes indeed, it is good when you truly obey our Lord’s royal command found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you pay special attention to the rich, you are committing a sin, for you are guilty of breaking that law.
BE
We must be a be before we can do a do. If you become more like Jesus day by day you will change the way you see people. Jesus loves us. Jesus died for us, each one of us and every one of us. Love the Lord. Love people.

01/22 Luke 6:39-42
39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “What good is it for one blind person to lead another? The first one will fall into a ditch and pull the other down also. 40 A student is not greater than the teacher. But the student who works hard will become like the teacher. 41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 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.
YOU
You give an account of yourself to the Lord. Speak with Him about your shortcomings, needs and blessings. Keep short accounts with the Lord, be quick to forgive and slow to criticize. People need the Lord and they will evaluate Him by the way you act. Do the next right thing. You nor I are responsible to give an account of no one except our self.

01/21 Luke 6:31-38
31 Do for others as you would like them to do for you. 32 “Do you think you deserve credit merely for loving those who love you? Even the sinners do that! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, what good is that? Even sinners will lend to their own kind for a full return. 35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don’t be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. 37 “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. 38 If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving — large or small — it will be used to measure what is given back to you.”
GIVE
Give. That is a call to you and to me. We are to give. Amazingly giving isn’t hard especially if we listen to the Lord. When we give we are blessed. What we give away no one can ever take from us. Give.

01/20 Luke 6:27-30
27 “But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.
PRAY
Life is meant to be prayed over. Pray about everything. Joy, pray. Anger, pray. Need, pray. Hurt, pray. Sick, pray. In all things at any time pray. We were created to pray to the Father.

01/19 James 2:1-7
1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? 2 For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor” — well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives? 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? 6 And yet, you insult the poor man! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?
POOR
Love the poor. Open up your heart and see their value. Love the unlovely. See them as Christ sees them, beloved and sought after. Jesus died for the lost. All of us stand on level ground at the foot of the Cross. Love the one you are with.