Today's Good News

April 2001

04/01/01    Psalm 1:3
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither and in all they do they prosper.
Life sure has a lot of ups and downs. It attacks us like a storm. I have found that the Lord will protect me in the storm. He has me in His grip. My responsibility is to remember that He is in control and to ask Him to meet my needs. Jesus is everything to me.

04/02/01    Mt. 8:1-3
Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. He knelt before him, worshipping. “Lord,” the said, “if you want to, you can make me well again.” Jesus touched him, “I want to,” he said. “Be healed.” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
Leprosy was an incurable disease ending in death. The leper was desperate and came to the Lord in desperation. Every-time I feel that way, I cry out Lord, help. And he does. Jesus responds to our desperation.

04/03/01    Psalm 2:1
Why do the nations rage? Why do the people waste their time with futile plans?
I am bought with a price. God created me and has a plan for my life. I can live, work, play and flourish amidst the activities of life with full confidence that the Lord is in control. I am not alone. I am important to Jesus.

4/04/01    Psalm 3:1-2
O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!”
Sin is my enemy. It overruns me on a regular basis. What I say I won’t do I turn right around and do. But there is forgiveness with the Lord. Jesus understands my weakness. The Lord is intensely interested in my growth and my victory. He rescues me every day.

04/05/01    Mt. 8:8
Then the officer said, “Lord I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed!
Ever feel like the Lord was far away? Carelessness in our devotional life can cause that. At other times our sin causes us to feel that God is far away. Remember, the Lord Jesus is never far from us. He is always close by. When we feel He is far away, that is when Jesus is close at hand. Cry out, help, and He will respond.
04/06/01    Psalm 3:3
But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head high.
I felt the pressure of potential failure. It made me irritable and sullen. When I realized my emotions I asked Jesus to change my heart. He stopped the pressure. He fixed my heart.

04/07/01    Psalm 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God who declares me innocent. Take away my distress. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
My faith grows by the way I respond to everyday life. It’s like athletic training. If I want to be able to handle the big challenges of life I must be faithful in the everyday challenges.

04/08/01    Psalm 4:4
Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.
Set a guard over my mouth Lord. Help me to hold my tongue. Equip me to keep my mouth shut until my brain has had time to understand the situation. Remind me O Lord that I never have to apologize for what I don’t say.

04/09/01    Psalm 5:1
O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning, listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I will never pray to anyone but you.
I struggle with past misdeeds, and make outrageous promises for the future. Unless I am willing to harness my heart and deal properly with things as they happen I will never mature as a child of God. God does not continue to punish me when I have confessed past misdeeds and asked for forgiveness. He is not impressed with future promises. Jesus wants me to depend on him and change the way I live my life.

04/10/01    Psalm 5:7
Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; with deepest awe I will worship at your temple.
Christ died so that I might have forgiveness for my sin. God cleans me up so that I can worship Him. He is a loving Lord who seeks fellowship with His child, me.

04/11/01    Mt. 27:27-29
Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire battalion. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They made a crown of long sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they placed a stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery, yelling, “Hail! King of the Jews.”
I am always reminded when I read these verses, I was there with the soldiers. My sin is personal with God. It pains him to see me suffer by choice over and over again. He aches with me as I make bad decisions. His heart is broken when I live a careless life. Lord please forgive me, a sinner.

04/12/01    Mt. 27:31
When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
Sin always takes us further than we meant to go. The journey back is much more difficult than we thought that it would be. Just remember, God forgives our sin, but the people around us take a long time to forget.

04/13/01    Mt. 27:35-37
After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there. A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
It took the blood of Christ to forgive my sin. It took the blood of martyrs to conquer the Roman Empire. What has Christ called you to do? It will take personal sacrifice and surrender to beat back the enemy.

04/14/01    Mt. 27:54
The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “Truly, this was the son of God!”
Maybe it took an “earthquake” for the Lord to get your attention. It did for me. One of the things I committed to do, as a parent was to make sure that my children heard about Jesus. I have tried to share with them in a way that is real. I have depicted my own conversion experience as honestly as I can. My prayer has always been that they make the right choice and not waste their life in darkness.

04/15/01    Mt. 28:1
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb.
I am saved by grace. A weak sinner who was focused on my own wants and needs. I wasn’t looking for God He came looking for me. I praise Him that He did. Thank you Lord for saving me.

04/16/01    Psalm 6:1
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage.
I am good at taking my eyes off the Lord. I am grateful for His lavish mercy when has to discipline me. His gentleness is astounding. His love is deep and comforting even in the midst of his discipline.

04/17/01    Psalm 7:1
I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors- rescue me!
When someone mistreats me, I immediately want revenge. Why the very idea of them mistreating me! The great tragedy is that revenge is a consuming emotion. It often hurts me more than the object of my anger. Christ will stand for me. Christ will comfort me. Revenge is best left to the Lord.

4/18/01    John 20:19-20
That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord!
I’ve walked down dark alleys. The fear would be so heavy on my heart that I could barely breathe. When I got to the light it was as if the world had been lifted off my shoulders. Jesus’ presence lifted the excruciating weight of the future off the disciples shoulder. Now they knew, He was alive.

4/19/01    John 20:21
He spoke to them again and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
The Father is my authority for the proclamation of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus empowers me speak. I proclaim freedom to the captives and life to the dead. I have Jesus in my heart. The world needs Christ.

4/20/01    Psalm 9:1
I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
When I praise God I discover more about Him. He is worth of all my praise. His nature is praiseworthy. My praise blesses me with an expanding awareness of who God is. He is King of kings, and Lord of Lords forever in control of me. Bless the name of the Lord.

4/21/01    Psalm 9:7
But the Lord reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne.
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. This reminds me of who I am and who God is. I experience myopia on a regular basis. I elevate myself to God’s position and seek to control my life. This is a mistake because I always mess up. I am then called to account. This helps me to refocus my lifestyle and let God be God.

4/22/01    Psalm 9:13
Lord have mercy on me. See how I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death.
Do the next right thing. I can do this because I know that my Lord lives. He lives to give me direction. He lives that I might have life. He is faithful in enabling me to live a Godly life. He lives in me.

4/23/01    Acts 3:15
You killed the author of life, but God raised him to life. And we are witnesses of this fact!
Jesus is alive. Sometimes I forget that. His activity in my life quickly reminds me that He is alive. As I face the ups and downs of life I am not alone. He is alive.

4/24/01    Psalm 10:17
Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.
I learned about helplessness first hand when facing a personal crisis. Why I can’t even defeat the common cold. But the Lord stood by me and helped me survive. He will do that for you if you will ask him. Bless the Lord Oh my soul and all that is within in me praise His holy name.

4/25/01    Psalm 11:1
I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly to the mountains for safety.”
All around me are voices giving directions. Do this and do that but they never have the authority of the Word of God. His Word gives me the wisdom and guidance I need to make right decisions about life.

4/26/01    Psalm 11:4
But the Lord is in His holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everything closely, examining everyone on earth.
I sometimes think that the unseen things I do have no effect on anyone but me. I am wrong about that. The Father sees them and often times my actions break His heart. He cares for me. He is intimately involved in everything I do. God loves me and He has a plan for my life.

4/27/01    Matthew 9:2
Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Take heart son! Your sins are forgiven.”
I need courage and forgiveness. Courage enables me to deal with all those dark yesterdays that claw at my today’s. Courage equips me to accept the forgiveness of my sin. Forgiveness outfits me for a relationship with the Father and service to my fellow man. I call on Jesus as I live each day of my life.

4/28/01    Matthew 9:6
“I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, take your mat and go on home because you are healed.”
Jesus healed my heart. It was so desperately wicked. Jesus healed it. Today he healed my hurt, hurt that was caused by my own selfishness and ego. He is faithful in His healing. He meets the exact needs that I have in my life. What a Savior.

4/29/01    Psalm 12:6
The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace purified seven times over.
I do not see the big picture in life. Because of my humanity I often make decisions based on limited knowledge. The Lord is faithful to guide me in those decisions. My faith in Him enables me to make right decisions. His love for me equips me to trust Him.

4/30/01    Matthew 20:16
“And so it is, that many who are first now will be last then; and those who are last now will be first then.”
My Jesus encourages me. He tells me of His love. He reminds me of His activity. He never leaves me alone. Then one day, He says, I will stand before Him and He will declare for all to hear about my relationship with Him. Jesus is everything to me.

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Clay Corvin

Clay Corvin is currently a Bible Teacher and occasional preacher at Bethel Community Baptist Church in New Orleans. He is the retired VP Business and Professor of Admin at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary after completing 38 years as their Business Administrator. He was the pastor at the Brantley Baptist Center for twenty-five years. He is married to Carol Corvin and the father of three children and has three grandchildren. He ministers today as Co-pastor of the Bethel Community Baptist Church and seeks to share the Gospel with everyone. Jesus is Lord!