Today's Good News

February 2003

2/1/03 Ephesians 1:1-2
This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. It is written to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May grace and peace be yours, sent to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

I pray that you have what you need in life today and that peace is always with you. This is a promise from the Lord. Claim it.

2/2/03 Ephesians 1:3
How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.

My worldly position or situation is not an indicator of the riches that are available for me in Christ. I am to be bold in my praying and faithful in the way I live.

2/3/03 Ephesians 1:4
Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

My life is not a mistake. The Lord hasn’t overlooked anything. I have nothing to fear. I can rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ and my life.

2/4/03 Ephesians 1:5
His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.

Jesus loves me. I am an important part of what the Lord Jesus is doing in this world. God is good, all the time.

2/5/03 Ephesians 1:6
So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.

I live a gift filled life. The Lord of all is constantly pouring out His love and kindness towards me. I belong to Jesus. I cannot lose.

2/6/03 Ephesians 1:7
He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.

I am free in Jesus. Even though I stumble and fall the Lord gets me back up. His watchful eye is always on me. I have eternal security in Jesus.

2/7/03 Ephesians 1:8
He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

I do not deserve the wonderful blessings that the Lord has given me. My responsibility is to remember the good and develop a lifestyle of gratitude. If I want to focus on what I don’t have life will be a wreck. If I focus on what I have been given in Christ life will be a joy.

2/8/03 Ephesians 1:9
God’s secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure.

I am saved by grace through faith. Jesus has shown me who God is. In Christ I have everything that God wants me to have. Life in Christ is a good life.

2/9/03 Ephesians 1:10
And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.

Make no mistake about it Jesus really is in charge. If I will let Him have control of my life it will solve the great obstacles of life that I face. God is good all the time.

2/10/03 Ephesians 1:11
Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago

God has a plan for my life. It is a good plan. My life is valuable and important. I can trust God.

2/11/03 Ephesians 1:12
God’s purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God.

Praising God permits me to be part of what He is doing here on earth. All of creation will one day bow before Him. If I bow before the Lord in prayer and trust Him with my life I will stand in the face of tragedy and tribulation here on earth.

2/12/03 Ephesians 1:13
And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

I belong to Jesus. He will guide me. He will encourage and comfort me. It is my responsibility to spend enough time with Jesus that I will hear Him.

2/13/03 Ephesians 1:21
Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come.

No one else is in charge but God. I can trust Jesus for eternal life and I can trust Him with my life.

2/14/03 Ephesians 1:22-23
And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.

One day I will stand before the Lord. If I fail to follow Jesus I will have no excuse.

2/15/03 Philippians 1:1-2
This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. It is written to all of God’s people in Philippi, who believe in Christ Jesus, and to the elders and deacons. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

I cannot live without Jesus. I may be poor but I need Jesus. I may be facing failure and tribulation but I still need Jesus. When I have Jesus I have everything I need for life. Life in Christ is the key to real life.

2/16/03 Philippians 1:3
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

I am thinking of you today. Thank the Lord for you. You are God’s gift to everyone you come into contact with. Be blessed and rejoice. Jesus is Lord and He loves you.

2/17/03 Philippians 1:4-5
I always pray for you, and I make my requests with a heart full of joy because you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

I have a testimony. I show the world that I love Jesus by loving people. God loves people most of all.

2/18/03 Philippians 1:6
And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.

I choose how much the Lord will use me. If I give God my time the Lord will use me. The more time I spend with Jesus the more I will become like Him.

2/19/03 Philippians 1:7-8
It is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

I love to be with other Christians. It is a blessing to hear what God is doing in their life. It is a joy to be able to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ.

2/20/03 Philippians 1:9-10
I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns.

I want to become more like Jesus. He will help me to deal with sin in my life. Sin separates me from God. Sin destroys my witness. Sin seeks to destroy me. Life like Jesus is a life of purity.

2/21/03 Philippians 1:11
May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation– those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

God is good. When God is in control of my life it will be good. When Christ is in control, evil is banished. When I am in control sin has its way.

2/22/03 Philippians 1:12
And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.

Circumstances are deceiving. My victory in Jesus cannot be changed by the world unless I bend the knee to the world. Jesus is God’s everything.

2/23/03 Philippians 1:13-14
For everyone here, including all the soldiers in the palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here have gained confidence and become more bold in telling others about Christ.

I can be a powerful voice for the Lord by the way I deal with tribulation and tragedy. Courage is contagious. I can be used by the Lord in any circumstance life puts me in.

2/24/03 Philippians 1:15
Some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.

I must make sure that my motives for ministry are pure. Jesus is Lord. If I have given Him Lordship of my life my life will reflect it.

2/25/03 Ephesians 1:14
The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.

Jesus is at work in my life. I keep a note of His activity. When things get tough I pull out my notes and get before the Lord. I simply recite to the Lord His victories and miracles and claim them again.

2/26/03 Ephesians 1:15-17
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

I have everything I need in Jesus Christ.  I am required to spend time with Jesus.  Jesus does the rest.  The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s everything.

2/27/03 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.

I am a blessed.  The Lord Jesus has blessed me.  The enemy will always tell me what I don’t have.  Jesus has provided me with everything I need.

2/28/03 Ephesians 1:19-20
I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Jesus will change my life.  The Lord Jesus will equip me to fight sin.  He will enable me to overcome bad habits.  He will destroy the worldly things that destroy me.  In Christ I have the authority and opportunity to be what God created me to be.

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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!