Jesus Said Share

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT

Has mankind always lived as separatists? Taking exception to one thing or the other in order to walk their own way, do their own thing? Yes, we have. We take our differences and make them into separate denominations - sometimes over the silliest of things - such as whether or not Adam had a belly button.

It's not the way God intended. When He said, "Come out from among them" it wasn't to be separated from our brethren. It was to be separated from the sin of the world. From before the foundation of the world, God's plan was to restore all of us to Himself through Christ our Lord. He said, go and make disciples of all the nations... ALL the nations. He didn't say all but the Muslim world. All but the Orthodoxy. All but the (fill in the blank). 

Revelation 22:17 reads,  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. God's plan has always been for disciples to obey and share His Word. He never said, "keep it to yourself". It's always been about "whosoever will".  Jesus said share...  Are we?

Prayer:

Father,

           Break our stubborn hearts for one another. Let us put on Christ in Your fullness that we are not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Help us to lay down the pride and stubbornness of ourselves so that all this world can see in us is Christ and Him crucified.  In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

For Contemplation

Psalm 111, NLT

Praise the Lord!

I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.

2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them.

3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails.

4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord!

5 He gives food to those who fear him; he always remembers his covenant.

6 He has shown his great power to his people by giving them the lands of other nations.

7 All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy.

8 They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.

9 He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!

10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise him forever!

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for the Psalms to teach us how to praise You! We praise You in Your sanctuary: praise You in the firmament of Your power. We praise You for Your mighty acts: and praise You according to Your excellent greatness. For You are so great and so worthy of all praise! Keep us ever mindful of Your greatness as we bow in honor of You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

A Change

The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.

Psalm 28:7 NKJV

When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, many times the end results are directly affected by our perspective. How we view God in those circumstances can be the difference between life and not life...

Do we go to God with "Why me?" "Why is this happening?" "Where are You in all this?"

Do the circumstances change who God is? Do they change His authority? Do they change one iota of His character? No, they do not! He is always trustworthy. He is always faithful! He is always ALL God. 

Therefore, He is always worthy to be praised. In all things. Through all things. The change needs to be in us.

Prayer:

Father,

          Change our hearts, O God! Let our vision align with Your Word. Increase our faith to believe the Truth of You above our circumstances. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Solomon Says

These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David’s son, Israel’s king -
Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going; A manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn— Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.
Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God...
Proverbs 1:1-7a The Message

When we endeavor to learn, don't we want to learn from the best? According to 2nd Chronicles 9:22, NKJV, King Solomon surpassed ALL the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. That would make his writings the best, wouldn't it? Read it again, slowly... line upon line... 

Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, 

to understand what life means and where it’s going; 

A manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair;

To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.

There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn

— Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God...

The answers to every question we have are found in God's Word. If you're looking for a place to start, humble yourself to God, seek Him first, and read a chapter of Proverbs every day. I don't think it's coincidental that there are 31 chapters.

Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for Your answers to our many questions. Birth in us a new desire to learn, to glean wisdom from Your Word. Open Your Word wide to our understanding, in Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The Season After Tis the Season

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
Ephesians 4:1-6 NLT

It's back to work and back to school and back to the season after the holidays. What does that look like? We extended extra grace during Christmas, tried to be nicer, took time to try to make allowances for people's stresses in life. But we're back in the scuttle of life without the holiday. Now what?

News flash - we're supposed to be that way in our daily living. Verse 2 in The Passion Translation reads, With tender humility and quiet patience, always demonstrate gentleness and generous love toward one another, especially toward those who may try your patience. And there's no mention of only during the Holiday Season... Selah

Prayer:

Father,

          Your mercies toward us are new every morning and we are so grateful! Your grace is sufficient for all we need to be able to demonstrate gentleness and GENEROUS love toward one another, especially those who may try our patience. Our victories are won not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit according to Your Word. Be our Strength and Guide, Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Prepared

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
1st Peter 1:13 NLT

Did God save us on a whim? No, He definitely did not. Ephesians 1:4a TLB tells us, Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us... God had the plan and He prepared our way of salvation before we were created. A little further down in 
Ephesians 2:10 NLT, we read, For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. The NIV reads, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

All along, He had prepared the way and prepared us for it. So how do we think we can do life without preparation, just going along with the flow? Do not be deceived. We can NOT. We must prepare our hearts and minds to be ever aware of God's presence and His plan.

God HAS prepared good things in advance for us, but the question is are we prepared to receive them?

Prayer:

Father,

           Forgive us for living our lives on the path of least resistance thinking we are living in peace. Awaken our hearts and minds to the battle that is set before us to live preparing to be able to do all You have prepared in advance for us to do. We want to live our lives purposefully before You, Father. Help us, O God. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

What Will You Do in 2022?

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message

My slogan for this New Year is "What will I do in 2022?" My only resolution is to make the choices that reflect God's way for every day. What will occupy my time - Facebook or His Book? What will I do? If I want different, I must choose to be different.

I want my life to reflect my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In order to do that, I must make the choice to humble myself before God, to let go of my will and embrace His. Trials will come - as I write, my family is battling CoVID - but my God is Jehovah Raphe, our Healer. By God's grace and with His direction, our lives will be changed according to the choices we make in obedience to Christ. 

Back in 1996, the Promise for Today started with a reference from one of Max Lucado's books, When God Whispers Your Name. It’s all about the choices we make on a daily basis. We are starting a new year - 365 brand new days - and we're doing them one day at a time. How about a Bible-reading plan (www.biblegateway.com has several)? 

What will you do in 2022?

Prayer:

Father,
           We choose You. Thank You for the power of Your Word to change our lives and to change our choices for how we live the life You have given us. Give us the courage to walk in the conviction of Your Word. Father, we ask that You guide us in EACH step of life. I pray Your provision and protection over those You have allowed me to touch with Your Word. Let us be ever mindful of You, Lord, the Author and Finisher of our faith. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen