Happy Today everyone! So there is so much going on these past couple of weeks and it isn’t done yet. Many things extend days till late into the night. Many things are joyful and filled with celebrations. Now we need to harness these emotions and feelings to energize us to finish the good works God has prepared in advance for us to accomplish. Let’s harness these emotions to be able to press in and press on to thrive for the glory of God!
Ever get that feeling in your gut, some describe it as butterflies? It can happen when you are feeling excited and when you are feeling nervous. What I try to do is tell myself something exciting is about or is happening whenever I get that feeling so that my brain does cause me to freak out when that feeling happens. Making that choice allows the energy that is building up to be used for good rather than evil. How about you? Do you allow the feeling to energize you or paralyze you? Do you allow the feeling to help you move forward or hold you back? Why not choose to use that energy to strengthen, motivate, and encourage you to do something great for God!
Last week there was the honor of senior awards and then the senior baccalaureate, yesterday was the senior parade after the last day of school and tomorrow is graduation day. So with all this excitement, I try to use it to help me make progress at work, and at home with extra family here for the celebration. The most excitement this week would have to have been celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. The week’s not over yet and so I am going to choose to harness this energy to help me focus and get stuff done in order to thrive for the glory of God! Let’s allow our faith to overpower and overwhelm our fear! Let’s allow the truth to overwhelm the lies! Let’s make today count!
Today’s Verse of the Day:
‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’
Let’s decide to make today count! Let’s decide to learn through God’s Word! Let’s decide to live our lives in a way that allows God’s Word to speak in and through our words, actions, and thoughts! Let’s decide to live our lives in a way that will allow us to thrive for the glory of God! Invite Jesus into your life! Invite Jesus into your heart! Begin to live transformed lives!
If you pray today’s prayer with me feel free to let me know so I can pray with you and for you too. (If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment then you can always try email.
Today feels different. Today is different. Today is a last. Today is an ending after nearly 9 years. Today I need to remember the conditions or requirements to help me get through today.
You are alive! No matter what happens! ∀ Today() = Happy!
Verse of the Day:
‘In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.’
Let’s not go it alone! Let’s invite Jesus into our situation and seek His wisdom and discernment to make it through! Let’s invite Jesus in and celebrate His sacrifice and resurrection power with Him and other believers! Let’s choose to make today count! Let’s not lose hope but choose to live out today for good! Let’s get it done and accomplish the good works God has prepared in advance for us to accomplish today! Are you ready to start your journey with Jesus?
If you pray today’s prayer with me feel free to let me know so I can pray with you and for you too. (If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment then you can always try email or text.
This year started with a lot of change. With my oldest to kick off the year, my hiring manager in week 1, my next manager in week 2, and we are midway through week 3 and am not sure what change is around the corner, just that it is coming. To go from surviving to thriving will require change. Who knew what changes would be coming. Who knows what changes are coming? I just know that my hope and trust are in God. He knows the plans He has for me and they are to give me hope and a future. He didn’t send Jesus to condemn the world but through Him the world would be saved. And unlike the devil who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, Jesus came that we could have life and life more abundantly, that’s right Jesus wants us to thrive! Are you ready to make the exchange with God today?
Today’s verse of the day comes to us from:
‘May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.’
There are so many things that try to hold us back and hold us down. Let’s seek and find Jesus. Let’s seek God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Let’s invite Him into our lives so that we can overcome evil with good, darkness with light, and hate with love. Let’s invite Jesus into our life today and walk out each step with Him rather than trying to go it alone. Let’s pray:
As I start today and consider these questions I look to grasp the things that will last and what is important. Our souls will last. The suffering for the believers won’t last. God’s love will last. Riches won’t last forever. The truth aka God’s Words will last. God’s faithfulness will last.
So will you put your hope and trust in things that will last or things that are temporary? Will you put your hope and trust in things that evolve or things that remain the same? God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
So let’s take a hold of God’s truth! Let’s receive God’s love! Let’s receive Jesus into our hearts so that we can spend eternity with God! Let’s put our trust in the one who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow who is God! Let’s pause for a moment and reflect on what God’s Word has to say:
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. — Psalms 89:34
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. — Psalms 90:2
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. — Malachi 3:6
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. — Hebrews 13:8
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. — James 1:17
‘But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ‘ — I Peter 5:10
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. — Revelation 1:8
God’s love endures forever and is repeated many times in Psalms 136
So if God’s Word will last forever, shouldn’t we take hold of it and love like Jesus commands us to live? So if God is never changing, shouldn’t He be our strong foundation? And since we will live forever, shouldn’t we choose and decide to spend it with God rather than apart from God? How will you decide to live your forever? What will your final destination be?
In the midst of all the change around us, we can hold tight and hold firm on the reality that Jesus never changes!
In the midst of all the changes around us, we can put our trust and hope in the realty that Jesus’s heart, purpose, and love for us are as strong as ever!
DISCUSSION TOPICS FROM TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL:
When times are tough, what kind of questions do you ask?
How does it help to remember that Christ never changes?
So where are you at today? What is your focus being put on? What is your time being used on? Are you investing in things that will last? Are you investing in things that will fade away? Are you investing in things that change? Are you investing in things that remain the same? Let’s decide today and pray:
Heavenly Father I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my Sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven. and have Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the day’s of my Life! Because your word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen
Did you pray with me? Would you be willing to leave me a comment so that I can pray with and for you about such an incredible decision? Or if you don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment on my blog, why not email or text me instead?
What comes to mind when you hear these words? For me it was back in school lunch time. My friends wanted to trade almost everything for the baked good my mom made and would send me to school with. Sometimes they would want to trade for purchased things like Twinkies and other such treats. Sometimes they would want to trade for fruit rollups or candy. Sometimes they would want to trade for an apple, banana, grapes or other fruits. Sometimes my mom would actually give me extra so that if someone wanted to trade I could still have some but then be able to give some away too.
You ever had those times? Were you the one who had the stuff people wanted? Were you the one who wanted what the other person had? Were you interested in getting healthy food? Were you interested in getting baked goods? Were you interested in homemade? Were you interested in store bought? How did you decide if you would trade or not? What would it take for it to be good enough for you to trade? Was it based on how hungry you were? Was it based on how much was being offered?
Imagine having the conversation with Jesus but instead of swapping lunches or lunch items, He gives you the offer of life? What if He offered to trade your sorrow and your shame for the joy of the Lord? What if He offered to trade your sickness and your pain for the joy of the Lord? What if He offered to trade your loneliness for getting to spend the rest of your life with Him? What if He offered to trade your resentment for someone for forgiveness? What if He offered to trade your resentment for someone for love? What if He offered to trade your sins for forgiveness? What if He offered to trade you eternity apart from God for eternity with God? How would you decide? What would it take for it to be good enough for you to trade?
So anything you are wanting or looking to trade for today?
‘Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.’
Let’s grasp a bit more context from God’s Word that lead up to this:
‘Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], speak truth each one with his neighbor , for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ]. B e angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin ; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]. The thief [who has become a believer] must no longer steal, but instead he must work hard [making an honest living], producing that which is good with his own hands, so that he will have something to share with those in need. Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.’
Are you in the realm or area of anger that is festering into resentment and bitterness that is impacting not only the relationship with the one who hurt you but all the relationships in your life?
Are you in the realm or area of living with forgiveness because you know that allowing the bitterness to fester is just like taking poison and expecting the other person to die?
Are you in the realm or area of living with forgiveness because you know that it is the only way to get through this life and is the key to helping you continue to build up and grow in love, compassion, and appreciation for God?
Did someone hurt you? Did someone lie to you? Did someone trick you?
Have you grasped or taken hold of God’s grace and power through His forgiveness of your sins?
Every time you missed the mark in your life has been forgiven by God through Jesus when we received Him as our Lord and Savior. I know for me that is a lot.
So with the reality that God loves us that much, we can take the hurt, the lies, the tricks and turn them around and forgive others too!
So today, instead of resenting someone or being bitter, allow God’s love and grace to melt it away, replacing anger with love and resentment wit forgiveness!
Forgiving them doesn’t mean they didn’t do something wrong.
Forgiving them doesn’t mean everything is ok or that you approve of their bad behavior.
Forgiving them tares up the bitter root so that it can’t grow in your heart!
Forgiving them makes sure that the bitter root stops poisoning your life!
So where are you at today? Are you ready to make a trade? Have you already made a trade? Are you ready to make the best trade? Are you ready to make a great exchange? Are you ready to invite Jesus into your heart and your life? Are you ready to start to live out a life that is transformed? Are you ready to live out a life that comes with God’s peace that surpasses all understanding? Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my Sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven. and have Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the day’s of my Life! Because your word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen
Did you pray with me? Would you be willing to leave me a comment so that I can pray with and for you about such an incredible decision? Or if you don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment on my blog, why not email or text me instead?
God's story through my life from 2005 to eternity... 
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