Psalm 86:12 (25:12 LXX)

I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
And I shall glorify Your name forever;

Personal Challenge…

No matter what is going on in our lives, whether good or bad, we still have so much to be thankful for. Here the Psalmist reminds us to pour our whole heart, our whole being into thanks for what the Lord has done, and continues to do in our lives. We are to glorify Him at all times. This helps to take our minds and hearts off of us and our circumstances and put them on Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Hebrews 10:35-36

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

Encouraging Words…

Living the Christian life is not for the weak of heart or those satisfied with the status quo. It is a marathon, an iron man, a climb up Mount Everest just to find another taller mountain on the other side. Why do we press through all of this? Because God promises us that there will be a reward in the life to come. And how do we press on? By holding on to the confidence, the faith, that He is Who He says He is, the “I AM!”, and that He holds the future in His hands. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Encouraging Words…

In our modern day culture we spend so much of our time, energy, and resources putting away for that future dream. And if we are not careful our whole life passes and we are either gone or too frail to enjoy that which we saved for. We also miss so much of what God has put in our lives…especially our loved ones. Here we are reminded that our true “retirement”, the true rewards for our labors of life, is held in the hand of our God and it exceedingly surpasses anything that we will ever be able to achieve or acquire in this earthly realm. Glory be to God!

Psalm 133 (132 LXX)

Behold now, what is so good or so pleasant
As for brothers to dwell together in unity?
It is like fragrant oil running down upon the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down upon the border of his garment;
It is like the dew of Hermon, running down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing
And life forever.

Personal Challenge…

Unity! What a blessing to strive for. It is so important to pursue unity in the life of a Christian that Christ and Paul both prayed that we would have it. We should be seeking it, building it, and protecting it in our homes, in our churches, where we work, in our communities, and throughout our world. We must be the initiators and sustainers of it as followers of Christ. And in order to do this we will most likely have to live sacrificial lives, putting others first. Glory be to God!

Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Encouraging Words…

Paul makes it clear here that we are to be observant of the practices and traditions of our Church and to follow them. This command was given before the written Bible was collected and therefore reminds us that our walk in Christ is not only to be formed and informed by the Scriptures but also the traditions and teachings established and handed down farom those Godly saints that have gone before us.

Proverbs 3:1-2

My son, do not forget my laws,
But let your heart keep my words;
For length of days, and years of life and peace
They will add to you.

Personal Challenge…

Our Lord wants so much more for us than we ourselves do. He wants us to have lives filled with peace, joy, and even abundance (His kind of abundance). But we must live our lives in such a way that He is the center of them and in so doing we will receive these blessings from Him. But as we choose to live more and more for ourselves we forget His laws and His commands and our lives begin to unravel.

James 2:19-20

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Personal Challenge…

It is so easy to slip into the couch potato Christian mode and just base our salvation on our belief, our faith. But James makes it clear that if we are not exercising our faith by regularly doing God’s work then that belief begins to die on the vine. Jesus made it clear that if branches of the vine do not produce fruit they will be cut off of the vine. We really do not want to join the ranks of the demons and just stop at belief.

1 Samuel 15:22

Then Samuel said, “If only the desired whole burnt offerings and desired sacrifices were equal to the Lord, as compared to one who heeds the voice of the Lord! Behold! Hearing is better than a good sacrifice and obedience than the fat of rams.

Personal Challenge…

God wants so much more than our profession of faith or our practice of rubrics such as attending church, fasting, or doing things like studies and prayers. He wants us to hear Him, to obey Him, and to live lives of love. What does this obedience look like? Loving Him and loving our neighbor. All proper behavior, robust and accepted sacrifices, come from these two commands. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

1 Peter 5:6-7

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Encouraging Words…

Wow! Couple this verse with the yesterday’s verse of the day (John 16:33) and you have a powerful approach to living through each day of your life. To top this off, these daily verses are actually selected fairly randomly. God has a way of doing things like this, which is a way that He shows us that he cares for us. Glory be to God!