Sunday, January 13

“You should be a light for other people.
Live so that they will see the good things you do
and will praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NCV

Do you want to make a difference in the world?
Be faithful to your spouse.
Be the one at work that refuses to cheat.
Be a good neighbor.
Be an employee who does the work and doesn’t complain.
Pay your bills.
Volunteer.
Don’t talk one way and live another.
Enjoy life.
These aren’t hard and fast rules to adhere to, but just natural outpourings of God’s love for us. Find ways of demonstrating His love today.

Lord, help us to find ways to show people your love. Thank you for loving us just as we are and instilling in us the desire to be faithful servants for you. Amen


Monday, January 14

“The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin.” 1 John 1:7

January is the time of year that we want to make a clean start of things. We make resolutions to do many things. We want to change – to be the people we think God wants us to be – even expects us to be. Only through Jesus can we be changed. Because of the forgiveness he offers us we can forgive others. We can make new starts, not only at the beginning of a new year, but everyday as forgiven people of God.

Lord, help us to always remember that your forgiveness is for today, not just for the past or the future. Help us to live in that assurance daily. Amen

Tuesday, January 15

“I cry out to the Lord, I pray to the Lord for mercy.” Psalm 142:1

We can talk to God because He listens. We don’t need to be afraid that he will ignore our prayers. Even if we aren’t articulate he understands and hears our voice. We don’t have to feel like we need to impress God with our words. He listens to the prayers of children, the elderly in nursing homes, the alcoholic begging for mercy, the prisoner in the cell, a parent needing guidance.. He is waiting to hear from us. We need to pray with sincerity, from the heart prayers. God listens to anyone who worships and obeys him.

Our prayers may be awkward but the power of the prayer is in the One who hears it. Our prayers do make a difference.

Lord, help us to remember that you are waiting to hear from us, whether in pleas for mercy, or in prayers of thanksgiving. We thank you for hearing us. Amen.

Wednesday, January 16

“Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns,
but your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more valuable then they?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.” Matthew 6:26-27

Whenever members of our family are caught worrying about something this is the scripture we tend to quote to them. It has taken us through many difficult times. It is good to be reminded about how much God cares about us.

Look at the universe. The earth has been estimated at six sextillion tons (a six with twenty-one zeroes). It is precisely tilted at twenty-three degrees: any more or any less and our seasons would be lost in a melted polar flood. Look at gravity – none of us tumbles off the earth falling through space. The sun has continued to burn for centuries at just the right temperature to support life. If God takes care of these things, how much more would he care for His children.

Lord, thank you for loving us in spite of all of our imperfections. Help us to be good stewards of all that you have given us. Amen.

Thursday, January 17

“Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth:
keep watch the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3

One of the hardest tasks in my life has been to harness my tongue. I was told by an aunt that once I started talking I never quit. I was hurt by her comment but it made me stop to think. How do we use our tongues? Are we hurtful to others? Do we complain? Do we speak negatively of others? Anything that offends God in our conversations needs to be eliminated.

Another scripture on the importance of watching what we say is Ps. 17:3: “I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.” We need to plan to keep our mouths from speaking bad or negative things. We need to replace these negative things with positive things. Praise others, don’t be taken in by idle gossip, speak well of others. We need to be in prayer about these things. We need to be sincere in our desire to gain victory in this area, and as we seek God for His help we will begin to notice that we are changing.

Lord, I pray that you will help me to develop sensitivity to the Holy Spirit concerning all of my conversation. Place a guard over my lips and let all the words of my mouth be acceptable in Your sight. Amen

Friday, January 18

“So, faith comes by hearing the message,
and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

Who’s job is it to preach the message? Isn’t it for all of us who have faith to share it with others? We sometimes need reminding that we need to tell people about God and His love for them. Many people may have heard of God, and may even believe that He is a loving God, but they have not heard about His love for them personally. Do you remember the first person who shared with you the good news of God’s love for you? Take a moment to thank God for that person and then ask him to show you someone in your life that you might share this good news with. He will give you this opportunity and then he will even give you the words. It is an awesome feeling to think that you might have been used by God to share his message of love to someone else. Don’t let any opportunity pass you by.

Lord, thank you for putting people in my life that have shared the good news of God’s love for me. Send others into my life that I might have to chance to tell them of Your love. Thank you for sending Jesus into the world that we might be saved. Amen

Saturday, January 19

“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

This scripture is what we build our faith on. In this age of easy access to information which comes to us from printed material, the web, radio, and television, we are bombarded with so many options for what we may choose to believe. Remembering this scripture can keep us grounded in our faith in Jesus Christ. Many movie stars, politicians, and others have chosen to follow other gods and because they are so much in the public eye we are tempted to listen to what they say. We must always remember to test what they say by going back to scripture to see what God has taught us through His word.

Remember His word says, “Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (to the end of the ages).”

Lord, Keep us in your word so that when temptations come we know that we can be assured that you are the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end. Amen.