Friday, October 31, 2014

The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love.

                      Psalm 103.8

(How should I respond?
This is it,
the mark of His indwelling
     in impossible situations.)

Thursday, October 30, 2014

But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD
           never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.

              Lamentations 3. 21-23

(Never forget this.
No matter what you face.
No matter what.
May these words course through
    your mind and heart.)

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

...because the hearts of the saints
have been refreshed through you.

             Philemon 1.7

(We are all surrounded
by people starved
     for encouragement
in word and deed.
Nothing done in love
is insignificant.)

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Serve the LORD with gladness.
Come into His presence with singing.

                      Psalm 100.2

(Not just a good attitude,
      but a happy heart.
It will change your day.
Guaranteed.)

Monday, October 27, 2014

Show yourself in all respects
a model of good deeds...

              Titus 2.7

(This is how to do it,
    the living out of His grace,
in the smallest detail,
in the most impossible places.)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Their Redeemer is strong,
the LORD of hosts
      is His name.

           Jeremiah 50.34

(No one beyond His redeeming,
nothing beyond His strength)

Saturday, October 25, 2014

...preach the Word,
be urgent in season
     and out of season...

           2 Timothy 4. 2

(by how you live)

Friday, October 24, 2014

All scripture is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training in righteousness ,
that the man of God
           may be complete,
equipped for
   every good work.

             2 Timothy 3. 16-17

(God's Word changes us.
Different eyes,
    different heart.)

Thursday, October 23, 2014

...that the LORD your God
   may show us
         the way should go,
and the thing that we should do.

              Jeremiah 42.3

(Wait. Be still. Listen.
God will reveal Himself.
My heart is open
    to Your leading, O LORD.
No detail too small.)

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Because you have made
    the LORD your refuge,
the Most High 
          your habitation,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near 
               your tent.
For He will give His angels
    charge of you
         in all your ways.

                 Psalm 91. 9-11

(Dwell in His Presence.
Seek Him out,
       even in this.
God will bring you through.
He will protect you
     even in its midst.)

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

A man without self control
is like a city broken into
   and left without walls.

           Proverbs 25.28

(A shield around,
  scaffolding and strength within.)

Monday, October 20, 2014

So also good deeds are conspicuous,
  and even when they are not,
they cannot remain hidden.

            1 Timothy 5.25

(God is using you for His glory
    even in the smallest kindness.)

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Thus says the LORD who made the earth,
the LORD who formed it to establish it
      --the LORD is His name:
Call to Me
     and I will answer you,
and will tell you great and hidden things
      which you have not known.

                   Jeremiah 33.3

(When Christ is at the center of your life,
you do not just have another worldview,
                 but corrected vision.
God opens up new dimensions to you.
You see everything differently.)

Saturday, October 18, 2014

For I will satisfy the weary soul,
and every languishing soul
    I will replenish.

           Jeremiah 31.25

(My strength is not my own,
    but only in Him.)

Friday, October 17, 2014

...found grace in the wilderness.

           Jeremiah 31.2

(No matter what,
    no matter where,
God will redeem the hard places
  when we follow Him into it.)

Thursday, October 16, 2014

But seek the welfare
of the city where 
I have sent you into exile,
and pray to the LORD
  on its behalf,
for in its welfare
  you will find
           your welfare.

        Jeremiah 29.7

(Wherever God sends you today,
His divine appointments
        His strategic placement)

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Now may the Lord of peace
   Himself give you peace
at all times
              in all ways.
The Lord be with you all.

              2 Thessalonians 3.16

(Even in the most impossible situations.
God makes the strategic difference.
Mind set,
heart set,
eyes set on Him.)

Monday, October 13, 2014

A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold
    in a setting of silver.

          Proverbs 25.11

(Give me Your vocabulary today,
         O LORD,
that my words may be 
        gracious and kind,
extending Your hope
      and compassion
even in dark places.
        "Use His words."

Sunday, October 12, 2014

...always seek to do good
  to one another and to all.
Rejoice always,
pray constantly,
give thanks
  in all circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 5. 15-18

(And God will take care
      of the rest.
See differently.
Think Christianly
        about all things.)

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Blessed is the man
   who trusts in the LORD,
   whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree
  planted by water,
that sends out its roots
         by the stream,
and does not fear
         when heat comes,
   for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious
  in the year of drought,
for it does not cease
          to bear fruit.
  
Jeremiah 17. 7-8

(Take root downward,
      bear fruit upward,
no matter the circumstances)

Friday, October 10, 2014

...the Word of God,
which is at work
               in you.. 

1 Thessalonians 2.13

(Yes, it makes a deep 
     and powerful difference,
  in your heart,
  in your day,
  in everything 
     around you.)

Thursday, October 9, 2014

And behold,
the waist cloth was spoiled,
it was good for nothing.

            Jeremiah 13.7

(Even in what
   looks ruined to us,
           God redeems.
God is working
   His greater purposes,
   His deeper plans.)

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Whatever your task,
       work heartily,
as serving the Lord
and not men...

             Colossians 3.24

(What has God placed
before me today?
There is nothing small
in His eyes,
nothing He will not use
in mighty ways.)

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Thus says the LORD:
"Let not the wise man
        glory in his wisdom,
let not the mighty man
        glory in his might,
let not the rich man
        glory in his riches,
but let him who glories
        glory in this,
that he understands 
                and knows Me,
that I am the LORD
who practice steadfast love,
   justice and righteousness
   in the earth,
for in these things I delight,
                 says the LORD."

Jeremiah 9. 23-24

(When it comes down to it,
what is my bottom line?)

Monday, October 6, 2014

He cleft rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly
as from the deep,

                Psalm 78.15

(God will provide
even in your 
impossible situation,
even in ways
      unexpected.)

Sunday, October 5, 2014

I will call to mind
  the deeds of the LORD;
yea, I will remember
  Your deeds of old.
I will meditate
  on all Your work,
and muse 
  on Your mighty deeds.

              Psalm 77.11-12

(Antidote to anxiety--
  dwelling on 
     God's faithfulness
instead of fear.)

Saturday, October 4, 2014

...to lead a life
     worthy of the LORD,
fully pleasing to Him,
bearing fruit 
     in every good work,
and increasing
     in the knowledge of God.

             Colossians 1.10

(The only agenda I need,
that which changes me
and changes the world.)

Friday, October 3, 2014

Have no anxiety about anything,
but in everything
by prayer and supplication
             with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known
                         to God.
And the peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
will keep your hearts and minds
                   in Christ Jesus.

                 Philippians 4. 6-7

(In everything,
            about anything.
First response,
   not last resort.)

Do I believe that God is sovereign 
          except in this?

Thursday, October 2, 2014

But when I thought
      how to understand this,
it seemed to me 
            a wearisome task,
until I went
   into the sanctuary of God.

                Psalm 73. 16-17

(God changes everything,
even what is wearisome
     into opportunity.
O LORD,
help me to see it with Your heart.)