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.