Ps. 145:18 "The Lord
is close to all who call on Him."
Prov. 30:5 "Every
word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection." NLT
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.
REJOICE.
03/01 2
Corinthians 5:1
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down – when
we die and leave these bodies – we will have a home in heaven, an eternal
body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
HOME
We are addicted to this life. We struggle to take our circumstances and
place them in their proper perspective. We have a home in heaven. This
home is waiting on our arrival. No matter how dismal the situation may seem
or how unimportant we may feel, we count with Jesus. Those who have died in
Christ and have preceded us to be with the Father are awaiting our arrival.
They know the joy that awaits us.
03/02 2
Corinthians 5:2-3
We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will
put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will not be spirits
without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies.
LIFE
Those of us in Christ are now living an eternal life. When we stand before
Jesus we will be clothed differently than now-we will have a heavenly body.
I don’t know what that means but I do know it will be beautiful and joyous.
Jesus tells us that. Paul tells us that. The Holy Spirit testifying in our
heart tells us that. We will be just like Jesus.
03/03 2
Corinthians 5:4-6
Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die
and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these
dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. God himself has
prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in
these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
STRANGERS
We are
strangers just passing through this life. Be careful what roots you put
down. Be extra careful where you place your trust and in what you place
your trust. Everything around us except people is passing away.
03/04 2
Corinthians 5:7-8
That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully
confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will
be at home with the Lord.
TODAY
Today we deal with problems and struggles. They are opportunities for
growth but they also give us pause to think about that day when we will
stand before the Lord. Then we will be home with Him. For now we continue
as aliens and strangers serving Him. We are addicted to this body but in
our hearts we know that we want to be with Him. Accept His peace and
continue serving.
03/05 2
Corinthians 5:9
So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or
away from this body.
SERVE
We aim to please. We live to serve. We know that He is in us and we are in
Him. We also know that whatever difficulty we face the Lord will go thru it
with us and indeed deliver us. Our life is joy because we have Him. Christ
in us is our strength. Christ in us is our reason for living committed to
Him and serving Him.
03/06 2
Corinthians 5:10
For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive
whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies.
ENCOURAGEMENT
Encouragement comes from Jesus. He encourages us to be busy at work. We
serve because He loved us and now we love Him. As we live and serve we need
to be aware that this is not all there is. He will reward us. But for now
that reward is simply a reminder of what is to come. We serve Him because
He loves us and we love Him.
03/07 2
Corinthians 5:11
It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard
to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.
RESPECT
We have
a deep abiding respect for the Lord. This respect reaches to the depth of
our being. He is the Holy One. He is the creator of the universe. We are
in His family as a gift of love. Our love for Him is always with an
awareness that He is God and greatly to be feared and yet He loves us.
03/08 2
Corinthians 5:12
Are we trying to pat ourselves on the back again? No, we are giving you a
reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a
spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart before God.
SINCERE
A sincere heart is open and humble before the Lord. Awareness that we are
the created and He is the creator is of utmost importance. We cannot get
ahead of God. He does what we He chooses to do. We choose to follow Him.
03/09 2
Corinthians 5:13-14
If it seems that we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are
in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Whatever we do, it is because
Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone,
we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live.
SURRENDER
We surrender our plans to Him. We live under His instruction. We do as He
bids. We are the one that us under orders. Jesus is Lord and we are
servants. My only source of strength is Christ.
03/10 2
Corinthians 5:15
He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no
longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ,
who died and was raised for them.
COMPLETE
We are complete in Jesus. He has done it all. We have everything we need
in Him. He gives us strength, wisdom, guidance and value. In Him we can do
all things. Without Him we can do nothing.
03/11 2
Corinthians 5:16
So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them.
Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a
human being. How differently I think about him now!
COMPLETE
Jesus
is all and in all. He is the One that we follow. Without Him our ministry
our work will not succeed. We cannot life a Christian life without His
control. Jesus is God’s everything and He is everything to us.
03/12 2
Corinthians 5:17
What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons.
They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has
begun!
NEW
We are new creatures in Christ. He gives us a new heart. He gives us the
Holy Spirit who will lead us in all things spiritual. We do not have to
depend on our old ways our old wisdom. Jesus gives us access to His ways
and His wisdom. In Christ we are able to overcome old limitations.
03/13 2
Corinthians 5:18
All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself
through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people
to him.
TASK
We are coworkers in Christ. He is Lord and Lord of us. Our new heart will
willingly partner with Jesus in doing this new work that He has given us.
Now we are about the Lord’s business. The task of sharing the Good News,
Christ has saved us from our sin and given us the free gift of a new life in
Him, is our new task.
03/14 2
Corinthians 5:19
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer
counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has
given us to tell others.
GOSPEL
The Good News is that God loves you and has done something about it. Jesus
died on the Cross and was raised from the dead. His atoning death does for
us what we cannot do for ourselves. We cannot save ourselves and the
Father’s free gift is forgiveness of our sin and new life in Christ.
03/15 2
Corinthians 5:20
We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge
you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to
God!"
PARTNERS
We are joint heirs and partners together with the Lord Jesus. He lives in
us and equips us to live a new life in Him. This new life enables us to
serve the Father and promote His work here on Earth. He would that no one
is lost and that we tell everyone about this saving work that Jesus has
done.
03/16 2
Corinthians 5:21
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.
GIFT
This gift that we are offered is right standing with the Father. Jesus has
done for us what we could not do for ourselves. The Lord Himself has come
seeking us. He loves us and died for us so that we might have new life in
Him. Jesus unites us with the Father bringing us into the family of God.
Once we were lost now we are saved.
03/17 2
Corinthians 6:1-2
As God's partners, we beg you not to reject this marvelous message of
God's great kindness. For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, God is ready to help you
right now. Today is the day of salvation.
NOW
Now we hear His voice, be saved. Now we have opened ourselves to Him, be
saved. This may be the only time that we are willing to hear, the only time
that we are open. Every time we close our ears it is just a little bit
harder for us to hear. Now is the acceptable time of salvation. Ask Him to
save you now and He will.
03/18 2
Corinthians 6:3
We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding
the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry.
OBSTACLE
What
must I do to be an encourager? What must I do so that I will not be an
obstacle blocking your sight of Jesus? It is important for us to remember
that we are the conduit through which the Lord Jesus works. Lord help me to
always point the way to you clearly.
03/19 2
Corinthians 6:4-5
In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We
patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We
have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion,
endured sleepless nights, and gone without food.
ENDURE
The watchword for you and me is that we are to endure. We live like Jesus
and for Jesus so that He may be lifted up by what we say and do. The
Victory is our endurance. He will work through us if we will let Him. He
Word and work are conquering as we endure. Keep on. Do not give up. Jesus
is Lord.
03/20 2
Corinthians 6:6-7
We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience,
our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We have
faithfully preached the truth. God's power has been working in us. We have
righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves.
JESUS
A life led by Jesus is a surrendered life. We cannot achieve spiritual
goals by earthly means. Listen to the Lord. Obey His voice. Do what He
says. It is easy to live a Christ filled life because Jesus loves you.
03/21 2
Corinthians 6:8-10
We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander
us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are well
known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we
are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. Our
hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual
riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.
SERVICE
A servant serves. We serve the Lord of the Universe and He has called us to
love one another. We give our love to others and forgive them of their
wrongs against us. It is never a nose for a nose in personal
relationships. Our love considers our enemies and seeks them out to do them
good.
03/22 2
Corinthians 6:11-12
Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you. Our hearts
are open to you. If there is a problem between us, it is not because of a
lack of love on our part, but because you have withheld your love from us.
LOVE
Christians are required to love each other. We do not have the luxury of
being petty or selfish-obedience to our Lord’s command to love one another
is our call and it means us.
03/23 2
Corinthians 6:13-14
I am talking now as I would to my own children. Open your hearts to us!
Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner
with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?
NOW
Now is the time we are to love. Now is when we change. Now is when we love
our enemies and do good to them. Right now is our charge.
03/24 2
Corinthians 6:15-16
What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a
believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be
between God's temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As
God said: "I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and
they will be my people.
ONE-WAY
The Christian Life is a committed life. We cannot live in the world and be
a lukewarm Christian-there is no such thing. We live for Jesus or we live
for the Devil. What we do and say, the friends we choose, the decisions we
make all matter. The Christian life is a one-way life totally committed to
Jesus.
03/25 2
Corinthians 6:17-18
Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the
Lord. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will
be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord
Almighty.
HOLINESS
When we give our heart to Jesus He gives us His Holiness. What makes us
Holy is our separation from the world unto Jesus. We read God’s Word so
that we will know how to live. We spend time with Jesus so that we will
know Him better and be able to deal with ourselves.
03/26 Psalm 145:1-3
I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the
LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery!
PRAISE
We praise the Lord from our heart. He knows what we think and what we
mean-no matter what our words say. When we spend time with Jesus the more
that we know Him the greater our praise will be of the Father. To know Him
is to praise Him. Jesus is worthy of all of our praise.
03/27 Psalm 145:4-5
Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts. I will
meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.
TELL
Too often we do not tell our children of His mighty acts. Some of His
greatest acts is how He changes us. Once I was blind and now I see. Relate
to your family God’s mighty acts in your life. The best story of the Lord’s
activity is a changed life.
03/28 Psalm 145:6-9
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your
greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they
will sing with joy of your righteousness. The LORD is kind and merciful,
slow to get angry, full of unfailing love. The LORD is good to everyone. He
showers compassion on all his creation.
INCLUDED
You and I are included in His love. It says everyone and that includes me.
Think about your life, how unique it is and how involved the Lord has been
in your life. The Lord is concerned about you and He brings inestimable
value and worth to your life. Praise the Lord for His meticulous care for
each one of us.
03/29 Psalm 145:10-12
All of your works will thank you, LORD, and your faithful followers will
bless you. They will talk together about the glory of your kingdom; they
will celebrate examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty
deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
FELLOWSHIP
Together we can stand. Together we can grow. Together we worship. There
are no lone rangers in the Lord’s Kingdom. We do things together, helping
one another, encouraging and urging one another as we serve the Lord. He
made us and He tells us that He made us for fellowship.
03/30 Psalm 145:13-16
For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule generation after
generation. The LORD is faithful in all he says; he is gracious in all he
does. The LORD helps the fallen and lifts up those bent beneath their
loads. All eyes look to you for help; you give them their food as they need
it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every
living thing.
UNCHANGING
The Lord doesn’t change. You and I change. Sometimes we change from
morning to night. We have certainly changed from that little child we once
were. We change but Jesus never changes. He is the same yesterday, today
and tomorrow.
03/31 Psalm 145:17-21
The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.
The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him
sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their
cries for help and rescues them. The LORD protects all those who love him,
but he destroys the wicked. I will praise the LORD, and everyone on earth
will bless his holy name forever and forever.
RIGHTEOUS
The Lord is righteous in all He does. Our view is tiny. Ages have been
forgotten and much has eluded our purview. The actions of the Lord are
always for our best interest because He is kind. His righteousness is
beyond our ability to comprehend. We can trust the Lord because He is
always good and kind.
February 2008 Devotionals
January 2008
Devotionals
contact Clay:
clay@lifesongs.com
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NASB Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New American
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