...we make it our aim
            to please Him.

           2 Corinthians 5. 9

(No matter what.
   Even in this?
Especially in this,
       creative in His grace.)

But we have this treasure
       in earthen vessels,
to show that the transcendent power
  belongs to God
             and not to us.

                    2 Corinthians 4. 7

(Our lives manifest
      His transformation in us.)

But He knows the way
                that I take.

               Job 23. 10

(Pray for direction,
    go in His Presence.)

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 to God

among those who are being saved

and among those who are perishing.

                     2 Corinthians 2. 14-15

(This kind of fragrance comes from within,

that which embraces others,

              lingers behind,

and points others to God.

Not like that from a bottle

              which masks an odor,

but what a transformed life smells like,

        the always fresh grace of Christ

that impacts everyone around.)   

For He will complete

   what He appoints for me,

and many such things

             are in His mind.

                     Job 23. 14

(Aware and responsive to 

                His appointments,

faithful to Him in all things.

Not laying my day before Him,

but letting God lay 

             His day before me,

that which has no interruptions,

    just divine encounters.)

                      

...to make us rely

not on ourselves

               but on God,

who raises the dead.

              2 Corinthians 1. 9

(God always bears deeper strength

           than the difficulty itself.

He empowers me

          to rely on Him through it.

And to realize He is God

                  and I am not.)

...for a wide door

            for effective work

            has opened to me,

and there are many adversaries.

   

                  1 Corinthians 16. 9

(Recognize the opportunities

that God opens every day,

a word here,

an act of kindness there,

a cracked door for the gospel

       in a casual conversation.

Be aware and ready.

His divine appointments

are not always comfortable,

convenient,

           nor expected.)

              

Therefore, my beloved brethren,

be steadfast,

     immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord

            your labor is not in vain.

                      1 Corinthians 15. 58

(No matter what you do today,

                 abound in it.

God is using you

      for His great purposes.

Even in what appears to you

   most insignificant of all,

             God brings His glory to it.

Nothing is wasted in God's economy,

no effort for naught.)

...Who does great things beyond understanding
and marvelous things without number.

                                       Job 9. 10

(We are surrounded by His deep mercies
      of which we are not even aware
and His purposes
       of which we would stand in awe.)

Mark the blameless man,

     and behold the upright.

                     Psalm 37. 37

(Watch how their relationship with God

       impacts everything they do

and touches everyone around them.

Seek them out.)

The steps of a man 

         are from the LORD,

and He establishes him

    in whose way He delights;

though he fall,

he shall not be cast headlong,

for the LORD

         is the stay of his hand.

                  Psalm 37. 23-24

(God provides not just a hand up,

         but His hand on.)

Fret not yourself;

it tends only to evil.

                 Psalm 37. 8

(Fretting just trips me up,

distracts me from who God is,

and keeps me 

       from what I should be doing.

Trust God.

Even in this.

Especially in this.)

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

                            Esther 4. 14

(God's strategic placement
       and divine appointments
are manifest
       wherever He places you today.
Things don't "just happen."
Nothing is insignificant
                        in His sight.)

Do this in remembrance of Me.

                  1 Corinthians 11. 24

(May my love for Christ
     may the love of Christ
     infiltrate everything I do today.
Bring the name of Jesus there.
"Remember Me,"
            even in this difficulty.)

Say to my soul,

       "I am your deliverance."

                    Psalm 35. 3

(Am I so intent on seeking an exit

that I neglect to seek God in this

                         and through this?

The great I AM is my guiding light.

Let His purposes be fulfilled.

Even in that which I don't understand,

                  God is always faithful.)

...in charge of
     the songs of thanksgiving.

                          Nehemiah 12. 8

(Praise and giving thanks are
      that intentional and significant,
a continual loop of praise
    that changes my heart
    and impacts my mindset
                  in all I do and say.)
           

...and delighted themselves

               in Your great goodness.

                     Nehemiah 9. 25

(Surrendering to God's design

    is not missing out on anything at all,

but the opening of a goodness

              beyond your wildest imaginings.)

 

...so that they went

through the midst of the sea

             on dry land.

               Nehemiah 9. 11

(Sometimes God's deliverance   

is right through the deep

    and impossible places.

Follow Him into it,

      trust Him in it,

   God will bring you through.)

After him....
after him....
after him...
after them...

             Nehemiah 3

(Obedience creates a chain reaction.
When I follow the LORD,
      it gives others the courage
      and encouragement
                to do the same.
My obedience gives others the initiative
       and the freedom
                               to obey as well.)

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

                          Nehemiah 2. 1

(God uses you wherever you are,
   strategically placed
               for His purposes.)

...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

(O LORD,

    how do I navigate this day,

       this situation,

       this relationship?

Help me to see Your way in it.

God protects in ways we never even see,

      provides in ways we may never realize,

      guides by His intricate design,

                 no problem too big,

                 no detail too small.)

For who sees

anything different in you?

               1 Corinthians 4. 7

(Christ makes

        the visible difference in you,

inside and out.

How do I approach this differently

       because of His abiding?)

...to preach the gospel
and not with eloquent wisdom,
lest the cross of Christ
       be emptied of its power.

                1 Corinthians 1. 17

(the gospel translated
               into real life
in all I do and say.
Bring the light of Jesus there.)

   

But we have the mind of Christ.

             1 Corinthians 2. 16

(How do I see this impossible situation,

         this difficult relationship,

even approach this "ordinary" day 

             with different eyes

             and a different heart

       because of Christ in me?

Whom I worship

impacts everything in my life.)

...in whatever place he sojourns...

                        Ezra 1. 4

(Where has God placed me today?

Always strategically,

      always with purpose.

There are no little things,

             nothing mundane,

     in God's economy.

It is not my attitude that changes things,

               but my eyes on Him.)

...stand in the holy place...

              2 Chronicles 35. 5

(Wherever God places you today,

          worship Him there

and bring the name of Jesus

in all you do and say.

You are not at work or school,

   but standing on holy ground.

Not an office or classroom,

     or whatever messy situation,

but the middle of a sanctuary.)

Be strong and of good courage.

Do not be afraid

         or be 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 31. 7-8

(A great passage of Scripture

       to start the week,

whatever your struggle,

whatever your own overwhelming horde.

Everyone struggles with something.

This is not "you can do it,"

but God who brings the victory

over whatever you fear,

            both real and imagined.)

On what are you relaying....?

                 2 Chronicles 31. 10

(Depending on God

         or something else?)

...praised the LORD

           day by day,

singing with all their might...

                      2 Chronicles 30. 21

(Praising in words and actions

           and attitude.

Worship reorders our lives aright.

Praise allows us to see

                             differently.)