Author: David Short

John 2:9-10

When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

Personal Challenge

As you read a through the gospels, you begin to see that Jesus used the timing around everything to maximize the impact of His message. We too can do this by always keeping our eyes on Him and looking for those perfect opportunities to be His vessels to receive His wine in order to spread His good news. We do this out of our love of Him and our love for our neighbor who needs Him. Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 18:46 (17:47)

The Lord lives, and blessed is my God.
Let the salvation of my God be exalted,

Encouraging Words

As followers of Christ, we can always claim verses like this one as truths that we can hold on to because they are promises from our living God. He does live, yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is my God. We can, and must exalt Him. Glory be to God.

John 1:12-13

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Personal Challenge

God has given all of His creation a free gift. The gift of salvation from death and the right to become His children. We must however, receive that gift in order to cherish it. By receiving it we are drown into His family and blessed by Him into eternity. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 18:32 (17:33)

It is God who girds me with power,
And He made my way blameless;

Encouraging Words

God never calls us to do His work without also giving us the power that we need to do it. When He sent out the apostles in groups of two, He gave them the power to heal the sick, raise the dead, and forgive sins. He continues to do the same for us. He just needs us to be willing to say “Yes!” to Him. He desires that we be intentional disciples in our journey with Him. Glory be to God!

Luke 24:32

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Encouraging Words

Jesus is alive. He is resurrected. He is always present in our lives. We can experience those times, just like these two on the road to Emmaus, where He reveals himself to us in a way that makes our hearts burn within us. The key to being able to see Him when the does this is to be constantly looking for Him as we go through our lives. Glory be to God!

Psalms 18:1-3 (17:2-4)

thus he said:
“I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my foundation, my refuge, my deliverer;
My God is my helper, on Him I will hope,
My champion, the horn of my salvation, and my protector.
I will call upon the Lord and praise Him,
And I shall be saved from my enemies.”

Personal Challenge

The only way to se God, our strength, our foundation, our refuge, our deliverer, our helper, our hope, our champion, our salvation, and our protector, as the Psalmist did, is to spend time with him. 100% of our time! He is always present with us. Are we present with him? He is all these things for us all the time. Do we embrace Him in faith and belief? Do we submit to him so that He can manifest himself to us this way? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Personal Challenge

Forgiveness is a difficult thing to give to another, especially when the offense cuts deep. And yet as followers of Christ, we are expected to forgive freely, asking for nothing in return. This was demonstrated to us by Jesus while He was hanging on the cross. I know that this is an area of my journey to theosis that I must continually work on. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 17:1-9 (16:1-9)

Listen, O Lord of my righteousness;
Attend to my supplication;
Give ear to my prayer that is not with deceitful lips.
From Your face let my judgment come;
Let my eyes behold uprightness.
You tested my heart, when You visited me in the night;
You tried me in the fire, and found nothing unjust in me.
That my mouth might not speak of the works of men,
I held to hard ways because of the words of Your lips.
Restore my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
I cried out, because You listened to me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my words.
Magnify Your mercies,
O You who save those who hope in You
From those who rise up against Your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
In the shelter of Your wings, You will shelter me
From the face of the ungodly who trouble me.
My enemies surrounded my soul;

Encouraging Words

The Palmist has such a beautiful way of expressing what we could do, day in and day out, to show our God how much we love Him. He also shows us here how much God loves us and does for us throughout our lives. If we are followers of Christ, then we are in a living, two-way relationship with our God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!