New Every Morning

Because of the Lord ʼs great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22‭-‬23 NIV

New every morning. It makes me think of the movie, "50 First Dates" with Drew Barrymore. She's in an accident that damages a part of her brain. Every night as she sleeps, her mind reverts to the same day. So everything is new to her every time she meets someone new or sees something she hadn't before. It it happened after the accident it didn't stay in her memory past one day.

This is God's grace. His love for us is new every morning as if we had never done anything to disappoint him. As if we had never sinned. Wow. I can be new in his eyes every day.

Let him love you like that. He will not fail you.

Do what's Right

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8 NIV

So I won't lie...about 2 seconds into my day after reading this verse I wasn't very careful about following the advice. You too? Probably. So I can't say my day was very prosperous or successful. But it wasn't wasted either. That's what grace is.

We are human. We will fail. We will fall short of the glory of God. It's the very reason we are given grace and forgiveness. But I do like the recipe for success written in these words. Do what we should...all of it..and we will be successful. It won't be easy but the rewards will be worth it.

Do the Right Thing

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 1 Peter 3:12‭-‬13 NIV

I read the chapter from where these verses are from because I wasn't so sure about that last sentence. It's true that if we do good our actions will speak for themselves, but that doesn't mean we won't be harmed. There is a saying that no good deed goes unpunished. And some days it seems that Christians particularly are put down and run over for doing good.

Then I read the verse that follows. If we are persecuted for doing good, it will come to no good end for the person doing it. Why? Because we are walking with God and living in faith. We can sleep with a clear conscious. Our actions will show what is true and right. This is how I want to live. I certainly don't want God's face turned away from me.

Do the right thing even when it's not popular.

Be Kind

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32 NIV

I shared just this verse on Twitter this morning because it is so relevant to what we need today. We need love for each other, not hate. We need to get rid of bitterness and anger. Those things are not of God. And if they are not of God we need to ward them off. But we can't do it alone. We need God's grace and love every day to guard our hearts, minds and mouths.

I have made a conscious decision to wake every morning and physically give my day to God along with all of its ups and downs. It's the only way I feel strong enough to face what the day might hold. I also make the decision to enjoy everything that comes my way. And it's not as easy as it sounds. But with God it is possible and it really does lift your spirit.

Forgive often. Speak kindly. Love greatly. For in these things, there is God.

His Own Purpose

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. 2 Timothy 1:9 NIV

He saved us..not because of what we've done. This reminds me of a favorite song of mine, "Mercy Saw Me". It says that Jesus saw not what we were but what we could be. God saved us not because of what we could do but what we could be. And for His own purpose! God has a purpose for you no matter where you came from or how bad you think things are.

Our job is to love God, live his word, and give his love to others so that they also may be molded for his purpose. Some days this is easy; most it's not. But we must not let Satan derail us and steal our joy that God has given us so that we can be used for his purpose.

Think about this: before time began, God chose you.

Have Faith, then Ask

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7 NIV

Haven't you ever thought, if I ask and they say no, at least I tried? That's having faith! Faith the size of a mustard seed. I read this verse this morning knowing full well we were about to take our truck to the shop because of a leak 9 days into our well laid plan...well, you know what they say about those....and I was refusing to let the devil sidetrack it. But how? Then I see this verse and it says just ask! But the caveat is that God's word must live in me.

That's what I focused on. Not the ask, but God's word living in me. For today what will that look like? What must I do? I thought about that and then the ask....that the truck repair would be reasonable.  And then I made sure to follow thru on being the living word. God answered my prayer with a yes. In fact, he had already provided because of how we found the leak, when we found it, and our work and school schedules working out so that being down a vehicle would not be that bad. He needed to show me how to have a little faith.

Today was a victory. Tomorrow may not be. But we always have victory as long as God lives in us.

In the Light

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, Godʼs special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 NIV

One of the wonderful things my mom passed to me was her horrible eyesight. It's all good. That's what glasses are for. But as I get older obviously my eyesight gets worse. Just last year I graduated to progressive lenses and readers when I wear contacts. Lucky me! One of the things I notice most is lighting. I crave light.  I get anxious and a little nervous when there is not adequate light to see. I feel like I miss a lot when things aren't clear.

Which is why I love this verse. God doesn't want us living in darkness. When we can't see we get anxious and nervous. But God has given us his wonderful light. The light that illuminates everything and makes us see all things clearly. We don't have to be worried or afraid. There's power in the light. Power to triumph over darkness.

Feel safe and secure as one of God's precious possessions.