Today's Good News

February 2002

2/1/02 Psalm 97:11
Light shines on the godly, and joy on those who do right.

There are 18 great religions in the world. Seventeen of them focus on how people improve themselves to earn a relationship with God. Christianity states that God in Christ gives man a relationship with Him. Jesus provides to me as a free gift what all of the world is searching for-a relationship with God.

2/2/02 Psalm 112:1
Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD. Yes, happy are those who delight in doing what he commands.

God wants me to be obedient. He calls me to obedience for my own good. The Father knows the future better than I know my past. He requires obedience from me so that I can build an abundant life.

2/3/02 Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.

I had a tough day. As the hours passed they added to my gloom. I couldn’t relax. There was a feeling that a cloud was over everything going on. Finally out of desperation I sat down with the Lord. I read His Word. It comforted me. Suddenly as if a light had been turned on the gloom of the day disappeared. Jesus is the light of the world.

2/4/02 Isaiah 60:20
The sun will never set; the moon will not go down. For the LORD will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end.

Some days without any warning, I will get a feeling of sadness or depression. A remembered failure may cause it. A thoughtless comment may be the cause. Sometimes I can’t really pin down what causes it. Those are the times I turn to the Lord for His intervention. I read His Word. I talk with Him. I claim His promises and take them to heart. His presence removes the gloom and encourages my heart.

2/5/02 Matthew 4:16
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”

I was lost, dead in my trespasses and sin, and now I am saved. Jesus touched me with His love and forgave my sin. He made me new and put me in the family of God. I am not alone. I belong to Him.

2/6/02 Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.

Jesus is easy to find. I simply go to where there is peace, joy and comfort and there He is. His light is always shining.

2/7/02 Matthew 5:15
Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all.

I want to be like Jesus. I want to have a good word for the confused. I want to bring healing to the hurting. I am committed to caring for the hopeless. I can only become like Jesus when He has control of me.

2/8/02 Matthew 6:23
But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!

I am a selfish creature. I often decide what I want to do and then plead with the Lord to bless my plans. I am discovering that my loving Father wants me to talk with Him first and plan second. He will give me wisdom that is not clouded by my ego. When I follow His plan it will always result in my best good. Christ died that I might have an abundant life. The Father knows what is best.

2/9/02 Luke 1:78 – 79
Because of God’s tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Jesus came for me. He broke through the pain and agony that life brings. He helped me to see myself as He sees me, valuable, useful and gifted. He enabled me to see beyond the limitations that time, wealth and the world place on me. God is good and He loves me.

2/10/02 Luke 11:35
Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness.

I am a great sinner. I am so easily diverted from serving the Lord. It is critical for me to spend time in God’s Word. His Word measures my actions. The Holy Spirit sees deep within my heart and roots out sin. The Lord uses His living Word to instruct, correct and discipline me. His Word is my light.

2/11/02 John 1:4
Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.

I cannot survive without Jesus. I need Him. I want to talk with Him every day. I spend time with Him and let Him give me guidance. I take my emotions to Him and let Him calm me down or encourage me. He is closer to me than a brother. Bless the name of the Lord.

2/12/02 John 1:5
The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

I am so grateful that my sin cannot stop Jesus. He is powerful and able. He can minister to me what ever I have done. He is not limited by my foolishness or stupidity. He really is the ONE.

2/13/02 John 8:12
Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Jesus wants me to obey Him. The Word of God gives me simple, specific directions for dealing with my life and overcoming sins control of me. The Lord loves my obedience more than my sacrifice.

2/14/02 John 12:46
I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness.

I want to be like Jesus. I spend time with Him so that I will know Him. I think about His life and His Words. Jesus is light. He always brightens up my life. He cares for people. I am most like Jesus when I care for others.

2/15/02 Romans 13:12
The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don’t live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light.

My attitude is important. What I think matters. What I think about lays the foundation for what I do. If I want to change my deeds I must change what I think about first.

2/16/02 2Corinthians 4:4
Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don’t understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

Work is a good thing. I like to work. But as I work I must be careful that it lines up with the work that the Lord has assigned me. Am I doing the work for myself or am I doing it for the Lord. Jesus has a plan for my life and I must be about accomplishing that plan.

2/17/02 2Corinthians 4:7
But this precious treasure – this light and power that now shine within us – is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.

I am amazed that the Lord can use me. I am weak and selfish. Often I am inconsiderate and distant. It seems that my sin is ever near. But God has called me. The power of God within me keeps me on course. When I fail He picks me up. His presence is my strength.

2/18/02 2Corinthians 6:14
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

I am to love the lost. I am to care for them and share with them. But I cannot plan the Lord’s work with the lost. The lost cannot fellowship with the Father. I am praying right now that everyone I know that is lost will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

2/19/02 Ephesians 1:18
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.

Jesus talks with me about His care and concern for me. He enables me to be a faithful soldier in my spiritual life. He charges me to be a faithful servant in my daily life.

2/20/02 Ephesians 5:8
For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it!

I find it hard to be nice to difficult people. I too was once a difficult person, dead in my trespasses and sin. Christ died for me. I can choose to be kind. I can choose to act like Jesus. A person’s action will not determine my response.

2/21/02 Colossians 1:11-12
We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light.

I do not think of myself as a Holy person. I am though. Not because of what I have done but because of what Jesus did. He brings me into the throne room of God. I belong. The Father is concerned about me. His thoughts towards me are good thoughts. I can live my life knowing that I belong to the Lord and live in His light.

2/22/02 1Thessalonians 5:5
For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.

Christ has saved me. I am part of the family of God. The Holy Spirit works in me so that what I know will become what I do. My time with the Lord is the most important thing I do every day. I belong to Him.

2/23/02 1Thessalonians 5:8
But let us who live in the light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

I am a child of God. The Father calls me to be a faithful soldier in the spiritual realm. Daily devotionals, prayer for the day, intercession for others are basic requirements to fight the fight of faith. The Father also calls me to live like Jesus. I am to develop my gifts and skills in this world as a servant. I can live this way because I know whose I am.

2/24/02 1Timothy 6:16
He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No one has ever seen him, nor ever will. To him be honor and power forever. Amen.

God is real. When I accept His witness and believe His testimony the Lord becomes real in my life. He gives me a chance to choose. Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow.

2/25/02 1Peter 2:9
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

I am not alone. My life belongs to God. He walks with me and gives me guidance so that I can serve Him. Jesus is Lord.

2/26/02 2Peter 1:19
Because of that, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. Pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a light shining in a dark place – until the day Christ appears and his brilliant light shines in your hearts.

Jesus is coming back. I can believe this fact because the Father said so in His Word. Until Jesus returns I can live my life based on His Word. Jesus is alive and He lives in me.

2/27/02 1John 1:5
This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.

God is perfect. Only the Lord can give me the wisdom and guidance that I need to live each day. That is the reason that I diligently search His Word and claim His promises. He knows everything. I know so little. I am grateful that I can depend on the Lord.

2/28/02 1John 1:7
But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.

The Word of God says that I am to love my brother. The people I live among are important to God. They must be important 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!