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2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Encouraging Words…
As each day passes by and I am reminded more and more that my body is growing older this verse encourages me. It is wonderful to know that this physical presence is but a small blip on our lifeline of eternity. As I have heard, this life in these physical bodies are but the introduction to the book of our lives. We have not even started the first chapter yet. I guess the real important question to ask is, “Where will the chapters of your book be set throughout eternity?” I am grateful that I can say that through the work of my Lord Jesus Christ my setting will be in the presence of God.

Acts 5:40-42 NIV
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Personal Challenge…
When you read this scripture in it’s context you will find that the apostles have been pulled into the Council of the high priest to be judged because they were publicly proclaiming Jesus as the Lord and the Messiah. The Council was tired of punishing them and having them go right back out and do it again. This time they were getting ready to put them to death when Gamaliel, a member of the Council, convinced them that if this new movement (what we now call Christianity) was truly of God then they would not be able to stop it by killing these men.

Fast forward to our times today. Are we as Christians willing to stand up so firmly for our Lord? Are we willing to take the cat-calls and the slurs because we are willing to pray over our meal at a restaurant, or cross ourselves in public when the names of the Trinity are invoked, or kneel before Him? Are we willing to be public with our commitment to Christ or do we feel it is more politically correct to hide our expressions of faith because we might offend someone. I must admit that I have all too often chosen not to stand out for my faith because of who might be looking in my direction. Think about it…even Jesus was willing to be hung naked on a cross in front of all of the people of Jerusalem in order to save mankind and creation from death. What am I willing to do for Him?

John 16:33 NLT
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Encouraging Words…
Have you ever had one of those times where you felt like you were all alone? Maybe it was out on a desolate country road or hiking in the wilderness. Maybe it was in the middle of a crowded area. Often it is in the midst of those trials that bear down upon us. But here is a wonderful promise from God’s eternal Word. We are not alone for God is ever present and He, in the form of man, has overcome the world and redeemed creation from the hold that death had on it. We are not alone and have the Creator/Redeemer of all there with us.

Isaiah 1:16-20 NASB
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Personal Challenge…
When did we, “the church”, start making salvation a noun? It is truly a verb throughout the scriptures. It begins with the work of Jesus on the cross, but it continues through the Holy Spirit working in and though our lives, and continues with us being obedient to His directions and the commandments of our God. It works out in our lives being lived in community with other believers. It is a continual, ongoing process and we are called to be active participants in that process.

Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.


Encouraging Words…
To continue with yesterday’s verse of the day, this one is another reminder that living my life with my confidence and trust placed in the LORD will provide for me a life lived without fear. It is not my act of confidence or trust that provides this life without fear, but it is the One in whom I place that confidence and trust. God is my provider, my protector, my sustainer. It is Him and His hold on the greater things that takes care of me and those whom He places in my life. It is once again, not about me, but about Him and His creation.

Psalm 10:14 NIV
But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

Encouraging Words…
It is so refreshing to go through each day knowing that I am not alone in what is going on around me. God knows everything that I am going through, both positive and negative, and He knows the bigger picture, the eternal one. What more can I ask for than a Father who is always there with me and helping me to fit into His eternal plan.

Deuteronomy 8:18 NASB
“But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Personal Challenge…
I guess the real question here is, “What is wealth?” According to the standards of the world most would apply this verse to material wealth, or stuff, and that God is promising that He will provide for us abundantly. But according to the standards of Eternity, wealth comes in many more forms. It may be health, it may be wisdom and knowledge, it may be those blessings that are hard to qualify (like my next breath, or that continual heart beat, or the love that I receive from those in my life). But the bottom line is that it all comes from the LORD my God and His covenant with mankind. Glory be to Him!

1 Peter 5:6-7 NASB
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Command with a Promise…
If I humble myself before my God He will exalt me at the time that He choses. If I cast all of my cares and anxieties upon Him He will come through, because He cares for me, His child.

Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Command with a Promise…
My daily reading today took me through the first four chapters of Ecclesiastes. I love how this book reminds me that all of life is just a drop in the bucket compared to eternity and that so much of what happens through this earthly life is futile and meaningless. I must seek out those things in my life that are truly important, things that make an impression on eternity, like loving those whom God has placed in my life, spending time with my spouse, my children, my grandchildren, doing those things that build up rather than tear down.

I love how these verses from Hebrews remind me that I must hold on to the confidence in Christ that God has placed in my heart and persevere, because through this He will reward me, He will give me that which He has promised.

1 Corinthians 2:9
…but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery…
9* but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

Personal Challenge…
I often find myself asking (sometimes even challenging) God why certain things are happening the way that they are or where He is leading me. This verse reminds me that God’s wisdom is so much greater than mine, and that He has such wonderful things in store for me. It is up to me to love Him, to trust Him, and to obey Him. He will do the rest.