Monday, April 30, 2018

Then the Spirit of the LORD
      came upon Jephthah...

                     Judges 11. 29

(Inviting God's Presence
      into this situation
is the prelude to the extraordinary,
preparation for the supernatural
       even on the most ordinary days,
awareness of new strength,
   and a deeper vision that is not my own.
"I never thought of it that way,
      I never saw that before.")

Sunday, April 29, 2018

While they were talking
       and discussing together,
Jesus Himself drew near
             and went with them.

                        Luke 24. 15

(Jesus draws near
        and walks with us
in our comings and goings.
           Even in this.
Am I aware of His Presence?
Do I invite Jesus
    into my conversations?
God works through relationships,
       even the most unlikely.
God weaves His extraordinary
     into the most ordinary moments).


Saturday, April 28, 2018

The LORD said to Gideon,
"The people with you are too many
for Me to give
the Midianites into their hand,
lest Israel vaunt themselves 
                  against Me,
saying, "My own hand
               has delivered me."

                 Judges 7. 2

(This situation is 
    impossible for a reason
and for His glory.
Watch what
     only God can do.
Fear is only a reminder
          to trust Him more).

Friday, April 27, 2018

And he said to Him,
"Pray, Lord, how can I deliver Israel?
Behold my clan 
     is the weakest in Manasseh,
and I am least in my family."
And the LORD said to him,
    "But I will be with you..."

                  Judges 6. 15-16

(God always chooses the unlikely 
     that His strength is manifested.
"But I will be with you..."
         Even here.
         Even in this impossible situation.
For His glory
      in unexpected ways).

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Does not the LORD 
     go out before you?

                 Judges 4. 14

(You are not alone in this.
Not a time to fear,
      but a time to trust Him more.
What if
    there was nothing 
              to be afraid of?)

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Do this
  in remembrance of Me.

                   Luke 22. 19

(Whatever 
    He places before me today,
wherever I am,
even in this.
Bring the love of Jesus there.
Would you do this for Me?)

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

...inquired of the LORD,
   "Who shall go up first...?"

                     Judges 1. 1

(Did it even occur to me
     to ask God about this?
First response,
           not last resort).

Monday, April 23, 2018

This will be a time for you
     to bear testimony.

                      Luke 21. 13

(An opportunity to
             practice grace in this)

Saturday, April 21, 2018

...given a possession...

                 Joshua 22.7

(Where has God placed me today
       to be faithful--
to love Him and love people,
to walk in His ways of grace,
to occupy fully,
to sow His Word,
to bear fruit,
and to allow God
    to transform the landscape?)

Thursday, April 19, 2018

If anyone asks you,
  "Why are you untying it?"
you shall say this,
"The Lord has need of it."

                  Luke 19. 31

(Live in such a way
that others are compelled to ask
                    why.
"There is something different 
                     about you."
And that would be
     the love of Jesus,
His grace in impossible situations).

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

...into the wilderness...

                   Joshua 16. 1

(Just unexplored territory,
not a place to fear,
      but of deeper trust,
that which is incredible
    God waits to unfold).

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

In the day of my trouble
           I call on You,
for You answer me.

                   Psalm 86. 7

(God always answers,
   mostly in unexpected ways
and in more dimensions
          I even know about.
God never works
     in singular outcomes).

Monday, April 16, 2018

And He told them a parable,
to the effect that they
ought always to pray
     and not lose heart.

                   Luke 18. 1

(How do I approach this 
         impossible situation,
       this desperation,
       this difficult relationship 
                            differently 
because I come before Him
      and marinate it in prayer?
His fresh vision and a new heart.
God does not just answer.
He gives an outpouring 
    of His goodness not even on my radar
and profound purposes 
               I am too short to see).

Sunday, April 15, 2018

And as they went
        they were cleansed.

                     Luke 17. 14

(In the act of responding to God,
in the comings and goings of following Him,
God heals,
God redeems,
God restores,
God completely transforms you).
      
      

Saturday, April 14, 2018

...and did not ask direction
         from the LORD.

                  Joshua 9. 14

(Seek the LORD in this.
How should I navigate 
    this differently?
Did I even ask?)

Friday, April 13, 2018

...but hold yourselves
            all in readiness.

                Joshua 8. 4

(Waiting on the LORD 
          is never passive,
but a time of preparation.
Not getting ahead of God,
      but getting ready,
learning everything I can,
fulfilling this assignment,
tying on my shoes.
"I can't do everything,
    but I can do something."
What is the one step
   God has given me today?
God's appointments
             are seamlessly woven).

Thursday, April 12, 2018

And the commander of the LORD's army
said to Joshua,
"Put off your shoes from your feet,
for the place where you stand
                 is holy."
And Joshua did so.
  
                         Joshua 5. 15

(Wherever God appoints you today,
where He strategically places you,
even today,
even in the most unlikely places,
even in what appears most ordinary,
            sacred before Him).

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

For the LORD your God
dried up the waters of the Jordan
for you until you passed over,
as the LORD your God did
                 to the Red Sea,
which He dried up for us
       until we passed over,
so that
all the peoples of the earth 
                            may know
that the hand of the LORD 
             is mighty;
that you may fear
        the LORD your God for ever.

                           Joshua 4. 23-24

(God has given you a story
           of His faithfulness 
for purposes that extend
        far beyond you.
A single act of trusting Him
always impacts others
more than you can know,
and those you may not even know
                                 yet).

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

...as I was with Moses,
        so I will be with you;
I will not fail you
           or forsake you.
...Be strong and of good courage,
be not frightened,
neither be dismayed;
for the LORD your God
                  is with you,
wherever you go.

                      Joshua 1. 5, 9

(His promise still prevails.
No exclusions.
Even today.
Even in this).

Monday, April 9, 2018

...so they followed in Your steps,
       receiving direction from You.
    
                       Deuteronomy 33. 3

(One step at a time).

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Lay to heart
all the words which
      I enjoin upon you this day,
that you may command them
to your children,
that they may be careful 
    to do all the words of this law.
For it is not a trifle for you,
         but it is your life,
and thereby you shall live long
in the land which you are
           going over to possess.

                    Deuteronomy 32. 46-47

(God's Word changes the trajectory of my life
            ....and theirs.
Responding to God impacts me
                  and every one around me.
When I do not obey God,
       we all miss out).


Saturday, April 7, 2018

Be strong and of good courage,
do not fear
        or be in dread of them:
for it is the LORD your God
     Who goes with you;
He will not fail you
               or forsake you.
  
                  Deuteronomy 31. 6

(Live in that reality.
      You are not on your own.
"Trust Me in this."
  Anxiety just blocks the panoramic view.
There is nothing 
      that He does not redeem).

Friday, April 6, 2018

I have led you forty years 
         in the wilderness;
your clothes have not worn out upon you,
  and your sandals 
  have not worn off your feet;
you have not eaten bread,
and you have not drunk wine
                    or strong drink;
that you may know
    that I am the LORD your God.

                       Deuteronomy 29. 5-6

(Things do not randomly "happen,"
but are seamlessly and intricately designed
       for the deepening of His life in you,
that we may not just believe
              but know.
He is not about to abandon you now.
Even in this).

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

...you have become the people 
of the LORD your God...

                  Deuteronomy 27. 9

(How does that look differently 
     in how I live?
In how I navigate through 
      this situation before me?
In how I respond even in this?)

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

...the work of a man's hand
comes back to him.

            Proverbs 12. 14

(Layer upon layer,
faithfulness upon faithfulness,
nothing but nothing
   is insignificant
in God's eyes and hands.
God redeems all
            that you do).

Monday, April 2, 2018

...into every town and place
where He himself
     was about to come.

                Luke 10. 1

(In every situation,
among the difficult people,
even in the unexpected,
bring the love of Jesus there.
Prepare the way of the Lord
      by sowing grace.
Even here.
Even in this).

Sunday, April 1, 2018

He is not here;
for He is risen,
     as He said.

           Matthew 28. 6

(The tomb is empty,
the huge rock of our despair 
       is rolled away.
               Jesus is alive.
Practice resurrection).

He is risen.
He is risen indeed.

Life can never remain the same.
      Because He lives.