Try Starting Your Day Like This!

The Bible – New Living Translation

Psalm59:16-17

^{16 But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.}

^{17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.}

Thoughts:

I’ve seen many challenges lately, for example a challenge to find 5 things you are thankful for, or some might challenge friends and themselves to walk for a number of minutes each morning. I believe that God challenged me through these verses, to imitate His servant David and find things to praise God for each morning, and to do it with joy! What type of day do you suppose we would have if we challenged ourselves to do this each morning? Would our churches be stronger if it was made up of more praising Christians? I make every effort to attend church prayer meetings each week, and it is amazing the number of prayer needs that we have to pray about. Now please don’t misunderstand, there is no better place to bring our needs, than to a place of worship where believers have gathered to pray for one another. However, I recall in one prayer meeting we had a visitor who was bubbling over with a praise item, however after hearing all of the needs, our leader was ready to move into prayer. The visitor finally spoke up and asked if there was room for praise items, as she wanted to share an item with the group. Oh my, what an important aspect of prayer we almost ignored that night. Friends, even under extreme circumstances: when we are hurting; or perhaps sad; or perhaps facing extreme challenges; God is still God and throughout all that we feel overwhelmed about, He has blessed us beyond all measure. There is a powerful song out by a popular group call “I will praise You in my storm”, can you do this friend? Can you praise God even in the middle of the storms of your life? How about committing to praise Him in every circumstance, knowing that God has a purpose for your life and that He will not do anything to harm you. It was God that gave you the healthy body to sleep well the previous night, and to awaken with another opportunity to shine for Him. Praise Him friend! Of course He will also hear your prayer for healing, hurt, job search and all other needs, but that will become very evident and easy to ask, after you have thought about and praised God for His wonderful blessings!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I’m sure it must seem like we are an ungrateful bunch of children, because of our lack of praise. You bless us so much that praise should be very prominent in our lives and on our lips. I pray that I may be so filled with thankfulness and praise that as my lips are opened, I may voice Your praises. I can’t think of anything more powerful to an unbeliever than for them to see a thankful, praising child of God. Please give me the strength and the boldness to represent You well, especially in my constant praise for the mighty God that You are. Thank You Lord, for blessing me in such wonderful ways. Please touch Your children that may meditate on this devotional and need to work on this aspect of their Christian walk also. Please use the praises of Your kids to touch the hearts of those that need to know You today so that they may want to know the awesome God that we serve. All this I ask humbly in the precious name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus, AMEN!

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.

Grace – Free and Undeserved

The Bible – New Living Translation

Romans 11:4-6

⁴ And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”(1 Kings 19:18)

⁵ It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. ⁶ And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

Thoughts:

I find it interesting how God draws certain things to our attention as we read His Word. I believe this has reiterated the point to me that without staying in His Word, how then will we hear from Him? My reason for the aforesaid, is that my initial reading of the highlighted verses left me wondering why God would have Paul include this Old Testament reference in his talk to the Roman believers and also in His Word for our edification?  God quickly drew to my attention something to share with you in today’s devotional. Friends, who are we that God should have ever gotten our attention towards salvation? Now, before we get all holy and self-righteous in thinking that we never killed anyone, like Elijah was referring to in his initial question to God about the Jews, the Bible clearly states that God detests sin. He hates it. But friend, all the same, He valued us/loved us enough to look beyond our sin and rescue us from this life of sin. Yes, He convicted us of our sin and our need for a Savior? That’s where Paul is coming from in this passage, and that’s what we must be diligent to praise God about, and that’s what we must be careful in helping our lost family and friends to understand. God’s grace is beyond anything we can measure or understand. He sacrificed His one and only Son to die a cruel death on a cross so that we might be saved, even while we were deep in sin, uncaring and undeserving of such grace. We just can’t comprehend that kind of grace/love! But just as Paul share with his Roman counterparts, I must remind you today that God’s very nature is love and just as He once put the life of His Son on the line for us, His grace is still sufficient today. Please don’t give up on that lost loved one. To the one that may be reading this today that may never have made a decision to accept Christ as your personal Savior, please don’t think that you are beyond God’s love. The mere fact that you are reading this devotional is an indication that the Holy Spirit is working to show you His love and grace. Be obedient to His call on your life today, won’t you? Please feel free to contact me using the email address below to pray with you and help you in the vital decision.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I praise You today for Your wonderful and unparalleled grace. You loved me enough to speak to me right where I was, in sin, and convince me of the need for my Savior! Although we are tempted to think like Elijah did and question why You would save some folk even after knowing their awful past, I thank You for not being like us humans, for we often think like the world still, and tend to give up on folk because their future seem so hopeless to us. Oh my, where would we have been if You felt the same way about us? Praise God that Your ways are way beyond our very best efforts, for You loved us even while we were still wicked and undeserving. Thank You Lord Jesus for Your love and Your grace. Please help us to see through eyes filled with the grace of Jesus so that we may have a positive, Godly influence in the lives of those that need to accept You as Lord. As Your sons and daughters we need desperately to be more like our Father. Please continue to impress upon us the character and love of our Savior so that the world might see and know, without our hypocritical selves interfering, that they need You in their lives. I ask all this in the precious name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus the Christ, AMEN!

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.

In Jesus I Trust – I Will Not Be Afraid!

The Bible – The Good News Translation

Psalm 56:9b-11

⁹ …………I know this: God is on my side-

¹⁰          the Lord, whose promises I praise.

¹¹          In him I trust, and I will not be afraid.

What can a mere human being do to me?

Thoughts:

I love what Matthew Henry had to say in his commentary on these verses: Every true believer may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and then I will not fear what man shall do unto me; for man has no power but what is given him from above. I believe that this is such a great reminder to those of us that place our faith in Jesus Christ, for we know that He had the power to raise the dead back to life, and that He Himself was raised from the dead. Really, whom then shall we fear when we have Jesus as our Guide, our Protector, our Healer, our Deliverer, our Sanctifier and our eternal Savior? Friends, we have it all! So why worry and why be afraid of life’s circumstances? Another scripture reminds us that to be present with the Lord in heaven is actually gain, or a big advantage for the Christian. But let me remind you dear friend, that as long as we are allowed to stay on this earth, we are to confidently represent Jesus and allow Him to faithfully work in and through us so that the world might know that Jesus is alive, because they came into contact with Him through His representative - through us! To my friends reading this who may have never committed your life to my Savior, please acknowledge to yourself that there is no one on this earth who can satisfy your daily hurts and needs, or convince you of your eternal future, like this Jesus of mine. In acknowledging your need for a Savior, won’t you follow through in committing your life totally to Him today? Contact me at the email noted below and allow me to pray with you and give you some guidance in this important decision. I would love to introduce you to my Lord!

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank You for loving me enough to die on Calvary’s cruel cross just for me. So undeserved, yet You showed Your love for me through ultimate sacrifice. Thank You Jesus! You are by my side daily through all of life’s circumstances, thank You for reminding me in this scripture this morning that I have nothing to fear while living on this earth, because those who oppose me or who may not treat me lovingly, they have no power other than that given to them by You, so of course You have power over them and can stop them at will! What a Mighty God I Serve!!!! Thank You Lord Jesus for accepting me as Your very own when I invited You to be Lord of my life! Please tender the hearts of my friends reading this devotional so that they too may have that same assurance! You are Lord, and above You there is no other! Thank You Jesus for being my Protector, Deliverer and everlasting Savior, and for hearing the cry of this, Your servant, AMEN!

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.