Wednesday, August 31, 2016

For this slight momentary affliction
is preparing for us
an eternal weight of glory
     beyond all comparison,
because
we look not to the things
          that are seen
but to the things
          that are unseen,
for the things that are seen
        are transient,
but the things that are unseen
                 are eternal.

             2 Corinthians 4. 17-18

(Something profound
         is going on here,
His purposes prevail 
      beyond our comprehension.
"Follow Me deeper.")

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

We are afflicted 
         in every way,
    but not crushed;
perplexed,
but not driven to despair;
persecuted,
    but not forsaken;
struck down,
    but not destroyed
...so that
the life of Jesus
  may be manifested 
  in our mortal flesh.

        2 Corinthians 4. 8-9,11

(Something supernatural 
        is going on here,
something different
              is revealed,
and that is Jesus in me.
His Presence is revealed
       in unlikely places
and impossible situations.
Bring forth, O LORD,
clear evidence of Your hand,
    even in what I cannot see).

Monday, August 29, 2016

...and you show that
you are a letter from Christ
delivered by us,
written not with ink
but with the Spirit
        of the living God,
not on tablets of stone
but on tablets
     of human hearts.

          2 Corinthians 3. 3

(The powerful message
     of a transformed life.)

Sunday, August 28, 2016

But thanks be to God,
Who in Christ always
     leads us in triumph,
and through us
     spreads the fragrance
of the knowledge of Him
                everywhere.
For we are
    the aroma of Christ...

          2. Corinthians 2. 14-15

(What lingers?
A sense of self
  or the presence of Christ?
Everywhere,
in all things,
every conversation,
every encounter,
every divine appointment.
Even in this).

Saturday, August 27, 2016

For He will complete
  what He appoints for me,
and many such things
         are in His mind.

                  Job 23. 14

(The LORD has appointed you
   for many profound purposes,
both great and small.
Everything
done in His name
is significant beyond measure.
    Even that below the surface.
Align my heart to Yours,
                     O LORD).

Friday, August 26, 2016

Why, we felt like we had received
the sentence of death,
but that was
to make us rely 
not on ourselves
        but on God
Who raises the dead.

           2 Corinthians 1. 9

(What hard thing am I going through?
God has deeper purposes in it,
          and not just for me.
God will redeem 
in ways I cannot ever imagine.
Use it, O LORD,
  to draw me closer 
and point others to You).

Thursday, August 25, 2016

I waited patiently for the LORD;
He inclined to me
     and heard my cry.
He drew me up
  from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust
               in the LORD.

               Psalm 40. 1-3

(How are you surviving,
   how are you thriving
through this impossible situation?
The song I am singing,
the song I am living:
"God is faithful.
        God is my strength."
You have been chosen for this,
   to bring Him glory,
for others to see that
your relationship with God is real,
not just another worldview
   or list of beliefs,
but a life-sustaining intimacy).

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

He uncovers the deeps
      out of darkness,
and brings deep darkness
           to light.

            Job 12. 22

(You, O LORD,
   lead me through,
even when
I don't understand).

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

But for You, O LORD,
      do I wait;
it is You,
  O LORD my God, 
who will answer.

          Psalm 38. 15

(God always responds,
never in singular outcomes,
always providing new vision
and aligning my heart to His.
Sometimes red light,
sometimes green light,
but always 
something deeper than that).

Monday, August 22, 2016

...Who does great things
and unsearchable,
marvelous things
     without number.

               Job 5. 9

(Beyond my comprehension.
Even in what
  He lays before me today.
Even in this 
      which I least expect,
woven seamlessly with
  God's profound surprises).

Sunday, August 21, 2016

For you may be giving
     thanks enough,
but the other person
  is not being built up.

   1 Corinthians 14.17

(Am I thinking 
       about others,
or only myself in this?
Make me mindful,
O LORD,
for the wellbeing
of those around me,
being built up
          in You.
Not what's in it for me,
but what's in it
        through You?)

Saturday, August 20, 2016

...on the very day
when the enemies of the Jews
hoped to gain mastery over them,
the reverse occurred.

              Esther 9.1

(When we are faithful to God
and seek Him through it 
    whatever it might be,
God redeems.
God can change 
       the course of history.
God can transform
   the course of my life).
      

Friday, August 19, 2016

And who knows
whether you have not come
to the kingdom
for such a time as this?

               Esther 4. 14

(Who knows?
      God does.
You are divinely appointed,
strategically placed by God,
even here,
even in this.
Nothing is insignificant
     in God's designs).

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Do this
  in remembrance of Me.

              1 Corinthians 11. 24

(Whatever 
    God may place 
    before me today.
Even in this hard situation,
even with this difficult person.
Out of His love for me,
out of my love for Him.
Bring the love of Jesus there.
Not just mindful of Him,
but bearing the mind of Christ
              into it).

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Say to my soul,
  "I am your deliverance!"

                    Psalm 35. 3

(There is nothing more
than the Adversary wants
than to persuade you
that you are a lost cause,
you are stuck,
there is no exit door.
Do I let fear and lies
          paralyze me?
Or do I seek
   the LORD in this,
His scarlet thread
    through the difficulty,
or in the midst of
what appears an impossible situation?
Most of the time,
His deliverance is not from,
   but through it,
right in the midst of it.
He meets you 
       at your point of need.
God gives His direction to go,
God gives His strength to endure,
God grants His peace
   in impossible situations).

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

...to praise 
   and to give thanks...
watch corresponding 
                  to watch.

                 Nehemiah 12. 24

(Round the clock
     in whatever I do,
not based 
   on favorable circumstances
but on who God is.
Intentional, continual,
          even in this?
Even in this.
A grateful heart verbalized
changes everything I see,
think, pray,
   and how I respond).

Monday, August 15, 2016

No temptation 
    has overtaken you
that is not common to man.
God is faithful,
and He will not let you
be tempted beyond your strength,
but with the temptation 
will also provide
       the way of escape,
that you may be able
to endure it.

               1 Corinthians 10. 13

(Seek God in this hard place.
You are not alone.
      God is working in you.
Am I willing to follow Him through it?
Look for the pass in the mountains,
    and God will redeem.
Even in this).

Sunday, August 14, 2016

...but we endure anything
rather than put a obstacle
in the way 
      of the gospel of Christ.

           1 Corinthians 9. 12

(That hardship--
and how I respond to it--
may be exactly what brings
someone to Jesus.
When you least suspect,
others are watching you
--in the everyday details
   and in the crisis--
to see what is 
       most important to you
and that God is real.
Be assured.
God is using you in mighty ways.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Then God put it
      into my mind...

          Nehemiah 7. 5

("What made me think of that?"
When I seek the LORD
with a whole heart
    and a willing mind,
God makes me aware
of something completely different 
             on my radar.
What is Your way in this,
                  O God?
The ultimate outcome is
God's hand in this,
    His purposes unfolding).

Friday, August 12, 2016

After him
  their brethren repaired...
...next to him...
after him..,
    
       Nehemiah 3

(Obedience to God
produces a chain reaction.
My obedience,
my following after God
      in this and in that,
impacts the obedience
and the willingness of others.
"I could do that too.")

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Now I was
   cupbearer to the king.

         Nehemiah 2. 1

(Where is God
       using you?
He works in incredible ways
    and improbable places.
God calls me
   to be faithful,
the most significant
            place of all).

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

But I trust in You,
          O LORD,
I say,
  "You are my God."
My times are
         in Your hand.

        Psalm 31. 14-15

(Even now,
even in this 
even when
I don't understand.)

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

...that we might humble ourselves
           before our God,
to seek from Him
a straight way for ourselves,
our children,
and all our goods.

                 Ezra 8. 21

(When I seek
    to align my heart to His,
God changes me
and influences
everyone around me
and all who
           come after me.
Everything I choose
directly impacts
       someone else.
What is God's way in this?)

Monday, August 8, 2016

O LORD,
I cried to You for help,
and You have healed me.

                    Psalm 30. 2

(It doesn't get any simpler
    than a cry for help.
It doesn't get more profound 
    than a changed heart.
God's way is not necessarily 
      a change in circumstances,
but a change in me.
The LORD is my strength,
        my deliverer,
and the healer of my soul).

Sunday, August 7, 2016

And this was their reply to us:
"We are the servants of the God
        of heaven and earth..."

                          Ezra 5. 11

(Live in such a way
that others cannot help but ask
                "Why?"
And what is my response?
How do I choose to live differently
                    even in this,
                    even in grace?)
   

Saturday, August 6, 2016

What no eye has seen,
nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived,
what God has prepared
    for those who love Him.

                  1 Coronthians 2. 9

(Don't underestimate
   God's work in your life)

Friday, August 5, 2016

Do not say,
   "I will repay evil;"
wait for the LORD,
and He will help you.

               Proverbs 20. 22

(Seeking His way in this,
changes my heart,
changes the conversation,
changes the outcome).

Thursday, August 4, 2016

The LORD is my light
       and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is
    the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

                Psalm 27. 1

(Choose to seek God
       through this,
      instead of fear.
Choose to pursue it
    with God instead.
Anxiety only trips me up.)

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Now to Him who is able
     to strengthen you...

                Romans 16. 25

(Operating under my own steam
     leads me only to despair.
God's strength
  overcomes what appears
  as impossible,
May I be faithful in whatever
He lays before me today.
God gives the strength,
more than enough.
        Remember that).

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Be strong and of good courage.
Do not be afraid or dismayed
before the king of Assyria
and all the horde that is with him,
for there is One
         greater with us
         than with him.
With him is an arm of flesh,
but with us
       is the LORD our God,
to help us
and to fight our battles.

                2 Chronicles 32. 7-8

(Whatever I fear,
     both real and imagined,
the reality of God Almighty
           prevails over all.
He promises,
         "I am with you."
Take Him up on that.
Choose to pursue
this impossible situation
  with the Presence of God.
Not just a different mindset,
but a vastly changed outcome).

Monday, August 1, 2016

For Hezekiah prayed for them...
And the LORD heard Hezekiah,
     and healed the people.

                 2 Chronicles 30. 18, 20

(Have I prayed yet for them?
Heave I prayed about this?
Worry leads to despair,
but God changes everything.
Grant me Your mind in this,
                    O LORD).