NATIONAL MORALITY
51. The pivotal national issue today is not crime; neither is it welfare, health care, education, politics, the economy, the media or the environment. The pivotal issue today is the spiritual and moral condition of individual men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and families. Nations are never changed until people are changed. The true hope for genuine change in the heart lies only in the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. Through Him, lives can be rebuilt. Through Him, families can be reformed.
PERSONAL BIBLE STUDY
52. Each time you read your Bible, ask the Lord for understanding. A wonderfully intimate love relationship with Christ awaits those who let the Spirit reveal to them the thoughts of God. The Spirit's goal is not to fill your mind with information, but to bring you to a deeper level in your relationship with the Lord. He wants you to understand the truth so you will fall in love with Jesus.
OUR ALL-KNOWING GUIDE
52. The Holy Spirit, unlike human companions, is perfectly adequate to meet our every need. Since He knows us intimately, He can comfort us in pain and loss when no one else can. Anytime we find ourselves in a quandary, He knows exactly what we ought to do. Since the future is laid bare before His eyes, He's aware of all the details that concern us. What's more, He promises to guide us each step of the way, calming our fears and overcoming our inadequacies.
FAITH -- NOT PERFORMANCE -- BASED BLESSINGS
53. The law says, "You must deserve the blessings." But the law is no longer here. Grace is here. So take the blessings by grace through faith. Believe God for the blessings. Today, it is no longer a question of how much or how well you have kept God's commandments. It is a question of how much you can believe God for His blessings. All the promises of God are "Yes", and because you are in Christ, you can say "Amen!" to His blessings! (1 Corinthians 1:20)
CONVICTION
54. Perhaps one of the Holy Spirit's most under-apreciated works is His conviction of our sin. Although it's unpleasant and sometimes painful, we should never want Him to stop, because this is the way He gets us back on track after we have strayed.
HAVE YOU DRIFTED?
55. If you have drifted in your devotion to the Savior and feel as though you grow more distant each day in your relationship with Him, then pray that He would draw you near once more. He knows your weaknesses, if you will tell Him that you want Him to take control of your life, He will come to you in a mighty way and bring hope and light to your situation, no matter how dark and hopeless it may feel.
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
56. To be filled with the Spirit means that you give yourself over to God's will, not your own. It's saying, "God, I've had enough of trying to figure life out by myself. I trust in You fully because You know what's best for me." And believe it or not, that's the most secure prayer you could ever pray. So be filled with God's Spirit by giving Him control over every aspect of your life today!
LEADERSHIP
57. What does it take to be a good leader today? It takes commitment. It takes putting others before you. It takes devotion to a higher ideal than yourself. And wouldn't you know it, those are characteristics exemplified by Jesus! If you want to be a good leader, follow Jesus. Lead how He led by putting others first.
HOW WOULD JESUS PRAY?
58. Praying in Jesus' name means we are praying on His behalf, in His interest. God's challenging you to change your prayer focus from asking for what you want, to asking for what Jesus wants in your life. How can you know what He wants? By spending lots of time with Him!
GOD'S LOVE
59. "For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Now the reality is that while we can read the words of the most famous verse in the Bible on paper, God's love is so much greater than anything you or I could express or imagine. So take time today and meditate on how much God loves you. And thank Him for showing it by sending Jesus to die for you!
IN CHRIST
60. Sometimes we can feel so bad about sin in our lives that we think our sin negates our salvation. But we need to remember that our salvation never had anything to do with our own righteousness anyway. Our relationship with God is based on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. Scripture affirms that once I become part of God's family, I am "in Christ." God is reminding you today to rest in your relationship with Him. Live for God, not to earn your salvation, but out of deep gratitude for His gift of grace to you.
IN THE MIDST OF A STORM... LET GO!
61. Beloved, your heavenly Father sees you trying to stay afloat when you are in the midst of a storm. He sees you trying to provide for yourself and your family, and thinking, "If I don't take care of these things, no one else will!" And He wants you to know how tender His heart is toward you, how He is not offended by all the bad things you have ever said of or to Him. He wants you to know how He wants to and will help and bless you. So let go and experience afresh the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward you!
RELATIONSHIPS
62. These are the two things that God wants you to think about:
-- How could you love God more fully, and
-- How could you show more love to the people around you?
As you think about your relationships with the people you see every day, is your part of the relationships most clearly defined by your love for them? Who could you spend some time with today? Who could you forgive today? Who could you give a love gift to today? Who could you introduce to Jesus today? Make your life count for what is really important.
*HOLD ON (PSALM 13:5-6)
63. David was faithful to God and trusted wholeheartedly in Him, but he felt the pressure of his problems as much as anyone. Instead of giving up or giving in, however, David held on to his faith. In times of despair, it is much harder to hold on than to give up. But if you give up on God, you give in to a life of despair.
A LIFE OF OBEDIENCE
64. A life of obedience requires a mind that is focused on the Lord and His plan, a heart committed to following Him, and a will that is surrendered to His authority. It consists of many daily decisions to deny self, resist temptation, and choose His way. How strong is your desire to carry out His will?
REGENERATION
65. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
IF YOU'VE MADE SOME MISTAKES
66. Scripture says that God knows the end from the beginning. If you've made some mistakes, the good news is that He has already planned a way to get you back on track! Just come to Him with an open and humble heart. Let Him wash you clean and make you new. Your mistakes aren't bigger than God. He loves you and has a good plan in store for you!
2 CORINTHIANS 1:20 --- PHILIPIANS 1:6
67. God finishes what He starts. But here is what we need to remember: God does His work His way in His own timing. But sometimes we grow impatient with God. We say, "Lord, finish this!" He will finish it. You can be confident of that. But sometimes if we don't see any tangible progress, we think that God has lost interest in us or perhaps has abandoned us. We need to remember that that is never the case. He will complete what He has started.
WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!
68. Scripture says, "The spirit of faith is in our words." My question today is, "What's coming out of your mouth?" Are you talking about how big your problems are, or are you talking about how big your God is? As believers our attitude should always be an attitude of praise - "Father, business may be slow, but I want to thank You that You're supplying all of my needs. My circumstance may seem impossible, but thank you, God, that all things are possible with You!" We should always find a reason to give thanks!
TEMPORARY TROUBLE
69. No matter what you are facing today, know this: you are not alone, and you are just walking through. You don't have to stop and live in the tough times! They are only temporary. I encourage you today: don't allow fear to paralyze you in the middle of "the valley of the shadow of death." Remember, God is with you. He is walking beside you. He is strengthening you. He is making a way of escape for you. He is lining up people and situations to bring you out of that tough place into a place of strength and victory!
ADOPTED BY GOD
70. Promising forgiveness and eternal life, Christ asks sinful man to believe and follow Him. When we trust in Jesus, we are adopted as God's children and receive His indwelling Spirit, who blesses abundantly with joy, peace, and guidance. Always welcome before the Throne of Grace, believers have access to converse with the Father at any time. He promises to hear and respond to our seeking, repentant hearts. And Jesus intercedes for us, praying on our behalf.
TRUE FREEDOM
71. True freedom is found in Jesus Christ! You were created to be an awesome person - not dominated by a sinful nature, not controlled by temptation, not mastered by laziness, not driven by the need to prove yourself, not always feeling empty, not needing love that you cannot find, not addicted to chemicals that destroy you, not governed by the excitement of gambling. But rather, you were created to live out the life you were designed for by God - the beauty of your personality shining through, loving those you have relationships with, encouraging those you meet, giving rather than taking, helping those in need, partnering with God as He changes lives.
3 THINGS YOU CAN DO EVERY DAY
72. I believe there are three things you can do every day that can change the course of your life. Number one: expect God's goodness. Get up every day looking for God's favor. Number two: recognize God's goodness. There are no coincidences, no lucky breaks. It's all the goodness of God. And number three: always give thanks for God's goodness. Anytime something good happens, big or little, give God the glory. "Lord, thank you for that parking spot. Lord, thank you for that idea. Lord, thank you for sending me dew in my desert."
HE DOES NOT RECORD YOUR SINS
73. God is showing you that He does not record your sins or failures today. Instead He records your faith confessions and deeds done in response to what His Son has done for you. Every time you sin, every time you waver in your faith, God does not record it. But everytime you believe Him and respond in faith, He records it! That should not make you want to sin more. It should free you to love God more! So don't be conscious of your failures. If God Himself does not rememeber them, who are you to remember them? Be conscious instead of your righteousness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), and you will reign in life (Rom. 5:17)!
THE GREATEST JOY
74. On the Christian journey, there will be temptations to stray, falsely promising to satisfy longings. Stay closely connected to Jesus through prayer and Scripture. Be listening so you can obey immediately when He calls you to change course. In the long run, living God's way brings the greatest joy!
FAILURE TO MY BENEFIT?
75. Failure can be hurtful, but it can also be beneficial. Failure produces wisdom when we ask for it and maturity when we learn from it. I think God wants us to remember that following Him is not about avoiding failures and being perfect. It's about accepting our weaknesses and becoming more dependant on His perfect love and power at work in us.
*A CHANGED LIFE
76. As our world becomes more technologically advanced and we are “wowed” at every turn by new and eye-popping innovations, there will always be subtle pressure on the Church to borrow from its store to make the gospel message more impressive and less offensive, and make the Christian life more palatable to the natural man. But what will speak more powerfully to the world around us will be a changed life as a result of the simplicity that is in Christ.
51. The pivotal national issue today is not crime; neither is it welfare, health care, education, politics, the economy, the media or the environment. The pivotal issue today is the spiritual and moral condition of individual men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and families. Nations are never changed until people are changed. The true hope for genuine change in the heart lies only in the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. Through Him, lives can be rebuilt. Through Him, families can be reformed.
PERSONAL BIBLE STUDY
52. Each time you read your Bible, ask the Lord for understanding. A wonderfully intimate love relationship with Christ awaits those who let the Spirit reveal to them the thoughts of God. The Spirit's goal is not to fill your mind with information, but to bring you to a deeper level in your relationship with the Lord. He wants you to understand the truth so you will fall in love with Jesus.
OUR ALL-KNOWING GUIDE
52. The Holy Spirit, unlike human companions, is perfectly adequate to meet our every need. Since He knows us intimately, He can comfort us in pain and loss when no one else can. Anytime we find ourselves in a quandary, He knows exactly what we ought to do. Since the future is laid bare before His eyes, He's aware of all the details that concern us. What's more, He promises to guide us each step of the way, calming our fears and overcoming our inadequacies.
FAITH -- NOT PERFORMANCE -- BASED BLESSINGS
53. The law says, "You must deserve the blessings." But the law is no longer here. Grace is here. So take the blessings by grace through faith. Believe God for the blessings. Today, it is no longer a question of how much or how well you have kept God's commandments. It is a question of how much you can believe God for His blessings. All the promises of God are "Yes", and because you are in Christ, you can say "Amen!" to His blessings! (1 Corinthians 1:20)
CONVICTION
54. Perhaps one of the Holy Spirit's most under-apreciated works is His conviction of our sin. Although it's unpleasant and sometimes painful, we should never want Him to stop, because this is the way He gets us back on track after we have strayed.
HAVE YOU DRIFTED?
55. If you have drifted in your devotion to the Savior and feel as though you grow more distant each day in your relationship with Him, then pray that He would draw you near once more. He knows your weaknesses, if you will tell Him that you want Him to take control of your life, He will come to you in a mighty way and bring hope and light to your situation, no matter how dark and hopeless it may feel.
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
56. To be filled with the Spirit means that you give yourself over to God's will, not your own. It's saying, "God, I've had enough of trying to figure life out by myself. I trust in You fully because You know what's best for me." And believe it or not, that's the most secure prayer you could ever pray. So be filled with God's Spirit by giving Him control over every aspect of your life today!
LEADERSHIP
57. What does it take to be a good leader today? It takes commitment. It takes putting others before you. It takes devotion to a higher ideal than yourself. And wouldn't you know it, those are characteristics exemplified by Jesus! If you want to be a good leader, follow Jesus. Lead how He led by putting others first.
HOW WOULD JESUS PRAY?
58. Praying in Jesus' name means we are praying on His behalf, in His interest. God's challenging you to change your prayer focus from asking for what you want, to asking for what Jesus wants in your life. How can you know what He wants? By spending lots of time with Him!
GOD'S LOVE
59. "For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Now the reality is that while we can read the words of the most famous verse in the Bible on paper, God's love is so much greater than anything you or I could express or imagine. So take time today and meditate on how much God loves you. And thank Him for showing it by sending Jesus to die for you!
IN CHRIST
60. Sometimes we can feel so bad about sin in our lives that we think our sin negates our salvation. But we need to remember that our salvation never had anything to do with our own righteousness anyway. Our relationship with God is based on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. Scripture affirms that once I become part of God's family, I am "in Christ." God is reminding you today to rest in your relationship with Him. Live for God, not to earn your salvation, but out of deep gratitude for His gift of grace to you.
IN THE MIDST OF A STORM... LET GO!
61. Beloved, your heavenly Father sees you trying to stay afloat when you are in the midst of a storm. He sees you trying to provide for yourself and your family, and thinking, "If I don't take care of these things, no one else will!" And He wants you to know how tender His heart is toward you, how He is not offended by all the bad things you have ever said of or to Him. He wants you to know how He wants to and will help and bless you. So let go and experience afresh the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward you!
RELATIONSHIPS
62. These are the two things that God wants you to think about:
-- How could you love God more fully, and
-- How could you show more love to the people around you?
As you think about your relationships with the people you see every day, is your part of the relationships most clearly defined by your love for them? Who could you spend some time with today? Who could you forgive today? Who could you give a love gift to today? Who could you introduce to Jesus today? Make your life count for what is really important.
*HOLD ON (PSALM 13:5-6)
63. David was faithful to God and trusted wholeheartedly in Him, but he felt the pressure of his problems as much as anyone. Instead of giving up or giving in, however, David held on to his faith. In times of despair, it is much harder to hold on than to give up. But if you give up on God, you give in to a life of despair.
A LIFE OF OBEDIENCE
64. A life of obedience requires a mind that is focused on the Lord and His plan, a heart committed to following Him, and a will that is surrendered to His authority. It consists of many daily decisions to deny self, resist temptation, and choose His way. How strong is your desire to carry out His will?
REGENERATION
65. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
IF YOU'VE MADE SOME MISTAKES
66. Scripture says that God knows the end from the beginning. If you've made some mistakes, the good news is that He has already planned a way to get you back on track! Just come to Him with an open and humble heart. Let Him wash you clean and make you new. Your mistakes aren't bigger than God. He loves you and has a good plan in store for you!
2 CORINTHIANS 1:20 --- PHILIPIANS 1:6
67. God finishes what He starts. But here is what we need to remember: God does His work His way in His own timing. But sometimes we grow impatient with God. We say, "Lord, finish this!" He will finish it. You can be confident of that. But sometimes if we don't see any tangible progress, we think that God has lost interest in us or perhaps has abandoned us. We need to remember that that is never the case. He will complete what He has started.
WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!
68. Scripture says, "The spirit of faith is in our words." My question today is, "What's coming out of your mouth?" Are you talking about how big your problems are, or are you talking about how big your God is? As believers our attitude should always be an attitude of praise - "Father, business may be slow, but I want to thank You that You're supplying all of my needs. My circumstance may seem impossible, but thank you, God, that all things are possible with You!" We should always find a reason to give thanks!
TEMPORARY TROUBLE
69. No matter what you are facing today, know this: you are not alone, and you are just walking through. You don't have to stop and live in the tough times! They are only temporary. I encourage you today: don't allow fear to paralyze you in the middle of "the valley of the shadow of death." Remember, God is with you. He is walking beside you. He is strengthening you. He is making a way of escape for you. He is lining up people and situations to bring you out of that tough place into a place of strength and victory!
ADOPTED BY GOD
70. Promising forgiveness and eternal life, Christ asks sinful man to believe and follow Him. When we trust in Jesus, we are adopted as God's children and receive His indwelling Spirit, who blesses abundantly with joy, peace, and guidance. Always welcome before the Throne of Grace, believers have access to converse with the Father at any time. He promises to hear and respond to our seeking, repentant hearts. And Jesus intercedes for us, praying on our behalf.
TRUE FREEDOM
71. True freedom is found in Jesus Christ! You were created to be an awesome person - not dominated by a sinful nature, not controlled by temptation, not mastered by laziness, not driven by the need to prove yourself, not always feeling empty, not needing love that you cannot find, not addicted to chemicals that destroy you, not governed by the excitement of gambling. But rather, you were created to live out the life you were designed for by God - the beauty of your personality shining through, loving those you have relationships with, encouraging those you meet, giving rather than taking, helping those in need, partnering with God as He changes lives.
3 THINGS YOU CAN DO EVERY DAY
72. I believe there are three things you can do every day that can change the course of your life. Number one: expect God's goodness. Get up every day looking for God's favor. Number two: recognize God's goodness. There are no coincidences, no lucky breaks. It's all the goodness of God. And number three: always give thanks for God's goodness. Anytime something good happens, big or little, give God the glory. "Lord, thank you for that parking spot. Lord, thank you for that idea. Lord, thank you for sending me dew in my desert."
HE DOES NOT RECORD YOUR SINS
73. God is showing you that He does not record your sins or failures today. Instead He records your faith confessions and deeds done in response to what His Son has done for you. Every time you sin, every time you waver in your faith, God does not record it. But everytime you believe Him and respond in faith, He records it! That should not make you want to sin more. It should free you to love God more! So don't be conscious of your failures. If God Himself does not rememeber them, who are you to remember them? Be conscious instead of your righteousness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), and you will reign in life (Rom. 5:17)!
THE GREATEST JOY
74. On the Christian journey, there will be temptations to stray, falsely promising to satisfy longings. Stay closely connected to Jesus through prayer and Scripture. Be listening so you can obey immediately when He calls you to change course. In the long run, living God's way brings the greatest joy!
FAILURE TO MY BENEFIT?
75. Failure can be hurtful, but it can also be beneficial. Failure produces wisdom when we ask for it and maturity when we learn from it. I think God wants us to remember that following Him is not about avoiding failures and being perfect. It's about accepting our weaknesses and becoming more dependant on His perfect love and power at work in us.
*A CHANGED LIFE
76. As our world becomes more technologically advanced and we are “wowed” at every turn by new and eye-popping innovations, there will always be subtle pressure on the Church to borrow from its store to make the gospel message more impressive and less offensive, and make the Christian life more palatable to the natural man. But what will speak more powerfully to the world around us will be a changed life as a result of the simplicity that is in Christ.
* means that the devo came from another source than the rest.