Day 17: Gift

If a man works, his pay is not a gift. It is something he has earned.  If a man has not worked to be saved, but has put his trust in God Who saves men from the punishment of their sins, that man is made right with God because of his trust in God. 

Romans 4:4-5 

SCRIPTURE: "If a man has not worked to be saved, but has put his trust in God Who saves men"

OBSERVATIONS: Continuation of Day 16: Vindication

APPLICATION: Continuation of Day 16: Vindication

 PRAYER: Continuation of Day 16: Vindication

Day 16: Vindicated

“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.  Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do. Acts 13:38-39

SCRIPTURE:"Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do."

OBSERVATION: Following laws and rules (and breaking them) don't give us a righteous relationship with God or a ticket into heaven. But just through our belief in and relationship with Jesus we get to be on first name terms with God, as well as a one-way golden ticket through the Pearly gates.

APPLICATION: As far as what we can "do" (the law of Moses), that won't get us anywhere so our focus shouldn't be there. But believing in Jesus and getting to know Him does it all. I need to focus more on the time I spend with Jesus getting to know Him.

PRAYER: Jesus,

Please help me to be more diligent in setting up regular "coffee dates" with you. 

You are the most incredible person I know, so I should be searching for time to spend with you!

Amen.

 

Day 15: Believe

 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

John 6:28-29

SCRIPTURE:“This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

OBSERVATION: So what does God want from us? 

To follow the 10 commandments? No. 

To end world poverty? no. 

To bring about world peace? no.

Memorize the bible? no.

Preach the Gospel? no.

Tithe 45% of our income? no.

He just wants us to Believe in Jesus.

but when we truly believe in Him - in the fullest sense of the world - we will naturally do these things (and many more) for Him, but because we want to, not because He told us too.

APPLICATION: Love Jesus, believe in Him, search for as much information about him as possible. grow into deeper relationship with Him.

PRAYER: 

God, 

thank you for setting the bar low for us - making it possible to serve God. 

Please help me to take full advantage of this amazing opportunity.

Amen.

Day 14: Hidden

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:3 NIV

SCRIPTURE:"your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

OBSERVATION: The closer we get to God, the more we become "hidden" - when people look at us, they shouldn't be seeing us, but God's Son in whom God is reflected.

APPLICATION: Continually "die to self"- make choices for God not for myself). The more I do this the more others will see Jesus instead of me.

PRAYER: 

Jesus, 

please help me to become more like you, and make less selfish and sinful choices, 

Amen.  

Day 13: Connected

But this is the new covenant I will make
    with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
    and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people. 

 And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
    nor will they need to teach their relatives,
    saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
    will know me already. 

 And I will forgive their wickedness,
    and I will never again remember their sins.”

 Hebrews 8:10-12

SCRIPTURE: "I will be their God, and they will be my people."

OBSERVATION: God's covenant is simply to be connected to us, "plugged in".  This has two implications:

• When we are unsure about God's laws (or God's laws specifically for us), we need only turn to Him as: "[He] put [His] laws in [our] minds, and [He wrote] them on [our] hearts." We just need to turn to Him for understanding.
• We play a secondary role in evangelism. True evangelism isn't based on logic or persuasion, but it is a heart-response. as The Arrows' song, 'Next Time' states: "You never know where the Spirit has been whispering at night / You never know where the angels have been putting up a fight." God is the primary force at hand in winning souls, we're just secondary partners that are to be used in the process. This doesn't mean that we don't need to take part in this - as we serve God, we need to respond to His prompting.

APPLICATION:

• First, we must regularly tap into this connection with the Creator. This is a muscle that needs to be stretched and built.
• Secondly, we need to check in with Him as to whether we are living a life that brings God Pride not shame.
• And lastly, we need to respond to His prompting as to who we need to speak to and what to say when we spread the Gospel.

PRAYER: 

 God,

 Thank you that you are a God that cares enough about us to be constantly connected to us, guiding us. help me to grow that channel of communication so that I can better serve your will.

Amen.

Day 12: Undercover Boss

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins! 

 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed. 

 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
    and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
    he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. 

 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins. 

 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
    because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Isaiah 53:4-6, 10-12 NLT

SCRIPTURE:"He was counted among the rebels."

OBSERVATION:We've heard so many times about Jesus suffered for our sins, but what I think is even more amazing is that He came in disguise! He came as one of us, and experienced our pains, and troubles. He knows and understands how sucky life can be. Now, when we pray, He knows what we're talking about, and stands up for us trying to change the problems, or at least (most often) help us get through them.

 

APPLICATION:  We are reassured that He understands, and is doing what everything He can for us.

this should permeate our prayers.

PRAYER:  Jesus,

thank you so much that you cared enough about us to give up your divinity and become like us so that you can truly understand our human experience.

Amen.

Day 11: Transformation

 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

SCRIPTURE: "...anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

OBSERVATION: He has given us a new life! I life in partnership with Him, and no longer bound to our sins! We are able to take up the sword (of the spirit, which is the word of God Ephesians 6:10-18) and say, "Not Today! I will not serve my sinful desires today, I am God's son (or daughter), created anew!

APPLICATION: We are sent "on assignment" to bring others to Him. because those before us did this for us. This is a very small ask from God who rebuilds us from scratch!

PRAYER:
Lord,
thank you for this new life!
Help me to remember that I have the choice to serve you over sin.
and please help me to remember my duty to serve you and those you are calling to you, by bringing them to You.
Amen.

Day 10 : Ain't no mountain high enough

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 

 He has removed our sins as far from us
    as the east is from the west. 

 The Lord is like a father to his children,
    tender and compassionate to those who fear him. 

 For he knows how weak we are;
    he remembers we are only dust.

Psalm  103:11-14

SCRIPTURE:"The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him."

OBSERVATION: This is a true picture of the ultimate Father. His Love resembles the song from Sister Act 2:
"'Cause baby, there ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you, babe"

His Love is huge, and powerful and all encompassing, nothing will get in its way - in fact, His love goes so far as to remove our sins, so that we wont be separated from Him.

APPLICATION: I don't have a dad that I would go to for protection, or just to hang out with because I love him and look up to him.

But I have God. The greatest Father ever! He protects me (Day4:Refuge) and loves me in a way that almost stretches the abilities of love! I should be choosing to hang out with Him because I love Him, because He's awesome, because I look up to Him, because I want to be like Him, because why the heck wouldn't I? 

PRAYER:   

 God,

I love you so much, but I suck at noticing what's more important to me, what I should be spending more of my time on. Please help me to focus on You, and put you first!

Amen.

Day 9 : Adam vs. Jesus

Here it is in a nutshell: 

Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, 

another person did it right and got us out of it. 

But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! 

One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; 

one man said yes to God and put many in the right.

Romans 5:18-19 (MSG) 

SCRIPTURE: "...One man said yes to God and put many in the right."

OBSERVATION: This is really an Adam vs. Jesus, and Adam fails spectacularly, whilst Jesus succeeds impossibly. but the stakes are high for both of them - They both carry the world on their shoulders, if they fail they world fails; if they win, the world lives for ever.

How often am I like Adam? How often do my selfish sinful actions affect others around me, even when they seem to be in secret not touching others.

How often do I put my foot down and and say "no! I'm going to be like Jesus the "one man [who] said yes to God" and chose Godly things above my selfish sinful desires"? Is it possible that by choosing to continually play the role of Jesus instead of Adam, I can effect those around me positively? I think so.

Am I going to be an 'Adam', dragging others down? Or a 'Jesus', pulling others up?

APPLICATION: The only response to this is to continually choose God over sin. there three pieces of scripture I can memorize and cling to:

• "...One man said yes to God and put many in the right." Romans 5:19b
•  "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7
•  "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." 1 Corinthians 10:13

PRAYER: 

 God,

You know my heart, you know I want to serve you and bring others nearer to you. Not make them stumble." Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." (Psalm 139:23-24)

 Please help me to see the "the way out so that [I] can endure."

Amen.

Day 8 : Grace

God saved you by his grace when you believed.

And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.   

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, 

so none of us can boast about it.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) 

SCRIPTURE: "And you can’t take credit for this [salvation]; it is a gift from God."

OBSERVATION: The fact that we are are saved is because of God's grace, not because we are good, or believe in God, or read our bibles, or do this journal. just because God wants to give us something we don't deserve....

...God wants to give us what we don't deserve... let that sink in. I should be rotting in hell....but I'm going to be at a huge block party in Heaven! Why? Because God feels like it; because He's God and He can do what He wants....because He loves me! It really is as simple as that!

APPLICATION: That's just it. There's no application for this. There's nothing I can do for this. In response I can be thankful, and try to Love God the same way He loves me. It wont change anything, though.

PRAYER: 

God,

All I can say is Thank You, and I love You.

There are no other words to express this.

Just thank You and I love You.

Amen.

Day 7: Called

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
 one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.

 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. Ephesians 4:1-7 (NLT)

SCRIPTURE: "Therefore I ... beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God."

OBSERVATION: Most non-Christians won't give Christianity a chance because most Christians are hypocrites - not loving our neighbors; and, not putting in the time and effort to be transformed by God.

We are called by God, called to live a higher standard of life. This is, at the same time, really easy but takes effort.

APPLICATION:Extending from Day 5's article that speaks about loving others, this is something we are called to do. Paul lays it out for us:

• Always be humble and gentle
• Be patient [& forgiving] with each other
• Be united and peaceful with fellow believers
• And united to the Holy Spirit

This last point is (perhaps the most) important as the "special gift [given] through the generosity of Christ" is in fact the Holy Spirit. He enables us to do more then we could ever do under our own steam. Therefore, 'doing' and 'trying' on its own, can never be as successful as it is when we spend time with God and the Holy Spirit!

PRAYER:

Holy Spirit,

please help me to live my life in a way that makes you proud!

please help me to be gentle and kind, and especially forgiving - I know I'm really bad at that. 

And please help me to draw closer to you - you are the bread of life, the life-giving water! I know I cant do this without you Lord!

Amen. 

Day 6 : Royalty

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7 (NLT)

SCRIPTURE: "For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus."

OBSERVATION: We get to sit with Jesus on the heavenly throne! God has made us royalty! We even get to share in an "incredible wealth" - of "grace and kindness"!
God arranged for this while we where still sinners - He didn't just give us a full pardon, or let us off with a warning - but He adopted us into His royal family! That love and grace (not getting what we deserve) baffles my mind!

APPLICATION: How much do I act like one of God's children? Or do I perhaps act like a thieving pauper in His kingdom, with only selfish interests and little respect for my King?

PRAYER:
Father God,
Please help me to remember that I am Your son, I sit on Your thrown and eat from Your table. You took me rags while was a sinner, and made me a member of Your royal household. I really don't deserve this. The only appropriate response from me is total devotion to You. Please help me to give this to you in every moment!
Love,
Your adopted son,
Evan

Day 3 : More than Conquerors

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 35-39 (ESV)

SCRIPTURE: "...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

OBSERVATION: What does it look like to be "more than [a] conqueror"?

I'm not sure.

But I do know that through whatever pain, sadness, worry or fear that we may face, if we focus on God and His amazing love (that we cannot be separated from) than we will conquer whatever it is we are facing. He will bring us through it. We just need to focus on Him and not the problem.

ACTION: How well have I turned to God in the past? Maybe if should turn to others, people I believe to be wiser, and ask them how they got through their rough times. And how God helped them - or how they responded to God in their trouble.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

I am sorry that I have not turned to you when I felt like the world was caving in on me in the past. I pray that you may become the rock that I cling too in all moments of my life: celebration and sadness. Help me to remember that because of your incredible love, I am "more than a conqueror" and even more so, You are my King!

Amen.

Day 5 : Fullness

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT)

SCRIPTURE: "Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

OBSERVATION: For about a year now, this "fullness" has been my hearts desire. And here finally is the how we become complete: "experience the love of Christ". I love that it says experience, not try to understand: "it is too great to understand fully". It even lays out a play-by-play for us:

1. "He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit"
2. "Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him"
3. "Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong"

Application: Three things jump out at me:

• "Fake it till you make it" - Just choose to love people, even those I don't want to (including that girl that sets my teeth on edge). Eventually, it'll happen without trying.
• Practice trusting in God, in everything. For "then Christ will make His home in your hearts".
• And lastly, its not about focusing on me - its about others. The entire spirit of this passage reflects the outward attitude of love. Paul doesn't say, "I want this for me", but says, "I pray this will happen to you." therefore I should pray more for others. and not just for the health or whatever, but their faith.

PRAYER: 

Dear God,

Help me to love others - especially those that inspire the opposite of love.

Please also help me to trust you and get closer to you everyday.

LORD, please help me to become the complete person you designed me to be.

Amen.

Day 4: Refuge

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, 

your faithfulness to the clouds. 

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; 

your judgments are like the great deep; 

man and beast you save, O Lord. 

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! 

The children of mankind take refuge in the 

shadow of your wings. 

They feast on the abundance of your house, 

and you give them drink from the river of your 

delights. 

For with you is the fountain of life; 

in your light do we see light. 

(‭Psalm‬ ‭36‬:‭5-9‬ ESV)

SCRIPTURE: "The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings."

OBSERVATION: How amazing is it, that we get to 'take refuge' in God?
When we are scared or just plain tired, we can go to Him and He feeds our needs in ways we don't understand - even without our noticing!

God blesses us in so many ways - this 'feast [from] the abundance of [God's] house' and the 'drink from the river of [His] delights' are the stuff we need to survive - not what we think we need to survive. And often there are extra treats that we don't need but God loves to spoil us as any father would.

ACTION: 

• We can go to God for refuge (rest or protection) but how often do we do this? I plan to spend 10-20min every day with God enjoying the rest He gives.
• How often do we notice His gifts? Everyday, I will notice at least one blessing and thank God for it. It could be that mom made my favourite meal; or maybe I got to hang out with that girl I like without making a fool of myself; or maybe I noticed the beauty of God's creation and was blessed with really good weather.
• If you are reading this, I challenge you to do both of these daily.

PRAYER:

Father God,

Thank You for being the Ultimate Father to me.

Thank You that You fulfil all my needs and bless me with so much more.

Please help me to recognize the gifts you give me and to be more thankful.

Also, please help me to notice and find time that I can spend with You God.

Amen.

Day 2 : Mercy-rainbows

9 

“This is like the days of Noah to me:

as I swore that the waters of Noah

should no more go over the earth,

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,

and will not rebuke you.

For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:9-10 (ESV)

SCRIPTURE: "I have sworn that I will never not be angry with you and will not rebuke you."

OBSERVATION: 

• I always thought the rainbow was God's promise that He will never bring another full scale flood like that again, which it is, but it's so much more than that! It's His promise that He will no longer be angry with us, that He will no longer punish us. He may be sad with our actions and choices but His love over powers everything else. Think it about it: God is not angry with you; God has never been angry with you; God will never be angry with you!

• Hills and mountains will not move on their own (maybe an inch every century) - it is even less possible for God to stop loving us.

We screw up so badly, and yet God doesn't hate us & and God isn't angry (maybe a little disappointed) but He still loves us passionately and forgives and 'forgets'.

For this reason Jesus came.

ACTION: Whenever I see a rainbow now, I should always pray a prayer of thankfulness for God's a Mercy and Lovingkindness.

When I sin, I mustn't beat myself or sit in shame - "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

PRAYER:

God,
thank You for Your compassion and love. 

I know I don't deserve it, 

but it's a gift I can freely embrace at the cost of Your Son's suffering on the cross.

Thank You that You created something as beautiful as a rainbow for us, for me,

So that I may remember Your love and mercy!

Amen.

Day 1 : Never Late

"Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him." Romans 5:6-8

SCRIPTURE: "Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready"

OBSERVATION: He has perfect timing. He will come through at that time, regardless of whether we are perfect enough, good enough or we spend enough time with Him! Often I think I have to do "this" or "that" so that I am who He wants me to be, like He is waiting for me to be ready, so "it" can happen sooner. While I should always try to get closer to God and foster my relationship with Him, I'm not going to make it happen sooner or spead God up. He shall always come through at His appointed time - Go's timing is perfect!

APPLICATION: If we are waiting for Him to act in our lives, or use us, we should be ready because He is ready it'll happen regardless of our readiness.
(1) focus on my relationship with Him, let it deepen and mould me.
(2) watch for his leading, guidance, instruction & word.
(3) do it without hesitation.

PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for using me and benefiting me; even while I am unworthy!
Help me to grow closer, to grow more worthy.
Help me to recognize Your voice, understand it and obey it.
Help me to hear it more regularly, and lean on it more.

Amen.