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Post by Redeemed on May 24, 2023 5:01:15 GMT -8
May 24 - Transforming Grace
Go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you. Mark 5:19
In Mark 5, Jesus encountered the demoniac of the Gadarenes who was naked, self-destructive, wild, and riotous—the very things that characterize our society today. Jesus cast out the demons, and people were amazed to see this man sitting clothed in his right mind at the Lord’s feet.
In his newfound devotion to Christ, he begged to follow Jesus as a disciple. But Jesus told him to go home to his friends and tell them what great things God had done for him.
Our loved ones are a difficult mission field; but Jesus has done so very much for us, how can we remain silent? Of course, our attitudes must radiate joy, and we must remember the difference between sharing and nagging. Peter warned us to be gracious and tactful, witnessing with a humble spirit rather than constant sermons (1 Peter 3:1). Ask God for a burden for friends and family, and then look for opportunities to tell them of the great things the Lord has done for you.
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Post by Redeemed on May 25, 2023 5:56:34 GMT -8
May 25 - “Whatever You Do”
Therefore…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
The great composer, Franz Joseph Haydn, though weakened by age and confined to a wheelchair, was present one evening at the Vienna Music Hall where his piece, “The Creation,” was being performed. As the piece progressed, the audience became so overwhelmed with emotion that when the passage “And there was light!” was reached, they arose and burst into applause. Struggling to stand, Haydn motioned for silence, pointed toward heaven and said, “No, no, not from me, but from thence comes all!”
We were created to praise God. It should be our aim to glorify Him through our thoughts, actions, and words, amounting to a life that is ultimately not about us but all about Christ. Haydn understood this well and carried it out wonderfully during his lifetime. He knew that the reason he was able to create such masterpieces was that God had blessed him with a gift. He spent his life using that gift to bring glory to the Lord.
Scripture tells us we are to “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name” (Psalm 29:2). Whatever we do, let’s do it to honor and glorify Christ Jesus the Lord.
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Post by Redeemed on May 26, 2023 4:38:05 GMT -8
May 26 - No Matter the Illness
The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.
Psalm 41:6
After Billy Graham’s death at age 99, his last will and testament was made public. He said, “I ask my children and grandchildren to maintain and defend at all hazards and at any cost of personal sacrifice the blessed doctrine of complete atonement for sin through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ once offered, and through that alone. I urge all of you to walk with the Lord in a life of separation from the world and to keep eternal values in view.”
Then he wrote, “When you read this I will be safely with Jesus in Paradise. I will be awaiting the reunion of our family in Heaven.”13
No matter what sickness we may face on earth, we can leave behind a testimony and joyfully look forward to a glorious Paradise. What a reunion, when we meet on the golden streets of the Celestial City! The Lord is preparing a place for us. His Holy Spirit will strengthen and sustain us in illness, and His blessed Word will prepare us for our eternal habitation.
13 Jay Allmond, “Billy Graham’s Last Will and Testament Revealed,” Baptist Press, May 25, 2018.
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Post by Redeemed on May 27, 2023 5:09:21 GMT -8
May 27 - His Ways, Our Ways
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8
The preeminent lesson to be learned in the Christian life is to walk by faith. For years, we navigate this world on the basis of our five senses. Then we are called to subordinate our “sight” (our senses) to faith and trust: “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Instead of believing what we see, we are called to trust what we can’t see or sense. We are called to trust God’s ways more than our own ways.
This trust challenge is seen throughout Scripture. When Israel was called from exile in Persia to return to Jerusalem, God told them they would one day summon nations to Him (Isaiah 55:5). How could a poor, captive nation summon other nations to God? Because God’s ways are higher than our ways. Paul discovered this when his evangelistic mission was blocked by God, only to have a new door open instead—because God’s ways were higher than his (Acts 16:6–10).
Walking by faith means trusting that God’s ways are always at work, even when we can’t see him working. The walk of faith is based not on our perceptions and ideas, but on God’s character and promises.
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Post by Redeemed on May 28, 2023 4:35:40 GMT -8
May 28 - Keep Going
I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
John 17:4
An employer takes a trip out of town and leaves her assistant with a list of tasks to accomplish in her absence. If the employer returns and finds the tasks only partially complete, or completed in an unacceptable way, what does that mean?
It means the assistant had little respect (fear, honor, awe) for the employer. The employer was not glorified by the assistant’s performance. But what if the tasks are completed above and beyond the employer’s expectations? The employer is glorified (honored) by the way the assistant valued the employer’s assignment. The assistant may not have agreed with or enjoyed the tasks, but in order to honor the employer, the tasks were completed.
Jesus acted like the faithful assistant. When He was on earth, He accomplished the work that the Father had given Him to do. He “set [His] face like a flint” (Isaiah 50:7), letting nothing keep Him from glorifying the Father. He “steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) and died for the sins of the world.
Do the work God has called you to and keep going!
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Post by Redeemed on May 29, 2023 3:55:19 GMT -8
May 29 - Leading Souls to Christ
Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:10
In 2021, the giant Ever Given container ship was stuck in the Suez Canal for nearly a week, blocking an essential international trade route for hundreds of ships and causing economic turmoil. The entire world looked on, wondering what could be done to oust the ship. Numerous diggers, tugboats, dredging equipment, cranes, and more worked tirelessly to set the ship free. Boats honked their horns in celebration after the Ever Given was finally dislodged.
Just as it took multiple agencies and equipment to free the container ship from the Suez Canal, it often takes work from fellow Christians to play a part in the salvation journey of someone who is lost. It could start with a simple “God bless you” that sparks someone’s interest in learning about God. Perhaps someone sees a spirit of grace and forgiveness in you that is not frequently seen in the world today. As the Spirit prompts us, we are emissaries of God’s love on their path to receiving the gift of salvation. And when a lost sinner yields to the Holy Spirit and is saved, there is celebration and rejoicing—in heaven and on earth!
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Post by Redeemed on May 30, 2023 4:57:13 GMT -8
May 30 - Cleanse Your Heart
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
In September of 2020, Nepalese climbers from an environmental organization spent 47 days collecting 2.2 tons of trash from Mount Everest. Tourism had dropped significantly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so a group of people cleaned up garbage from the world’s tallest mountain, along with cleaning up waste from the surrounding mountains as well.
Sometimes we have mountains of “trash” in our heart—and it takes time to identify and remove it from our life. It takes effort to eliminate selfish habits, sinful thoughts, and toxic traits. But thankfully, we don’t have to do it alone. God wants to help us. When was the last time you examined your heart and brought everything to Christ in surrender? Choose today to ask God to wash away the trash and turmoil in your heart, and to renew a steadfast spirit in you!
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Post by Redeemed on May 31, 2023 4:21:18 GMT -8
May 31- Loving Like God Loves
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34
Every organization has a way of marketing or identifying itself. Political parties, sports teams, fraternal organizations, religious groups, corporations—all develop ways to define who they are. And members or adherents adopt those ideas or ideals and make them universally known.
Jesus gave His disciples just such a “brand,” or identifying mark: love. In John 13:35, we have His words: “By this [sign] all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” But can’t love be found as a trait in many different groups in society? Yes, but perhaps not the kind of love Jesus’ disciples are to be marked by. In verse 34, Jesus made the love of which He spoke specific: “As I have loved you, that you also love one another.” In other words, it’s not just generic love—it’s a God kind of love: sacrificial, enduring, generous, and unconditional. When we love those around us as Christ instructed, we manifest God’s love in the world. As God has loved us, we are to love one another (John 15:12).
Being a witness for Christ ultimately involves a retelling of the Gospel. But before that opportunity arises, demonstrating God’s love to others can be a first step.
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Post by Redeemed on Jun 1, 2023 4:11:19 GMT -8
June 1 - Crystal-Clear Goals
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Psalm 143:10
Many nations are battling infrastructure problems, and this extends to reservoirs. In America, for example, many of the nation’s reservoirs are filling up with sediment. In the past, sand, silt, rocks, and debris floated down rivers and into the sea, but now they are being trapped behind dams, threatening our water supply. The point being…
If we’re going to have the crystal-clear goals and plans of God flowing through our lives, we need pure sources. Our best ideas flow from the reservoir of prayer. Our most creative moments come from our time with the Creator. When we invest time with Him in prayer and Bible study, we gain clearer focus on our personal dreams.
In Psalm 143, David felt overwhelmed (verse 4), but he spread out his hands to God (verse 6). He said, “Cause me to know the way in which I should walk” (verse 8), and He asked for God to teach him and to lead him (verse 10).
God will lead you, teach you, and use you, even when you feel overwhelmed, as you spread out your hands to Him in prayer.
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Post by Redeemed on Jun 2, 2023 4:26:21 GMT -8
June 2 - 20/20 Vision
I will guide you with My eye.
Psalm 32:8
In 2020, Ashley Winter, 37, of Hereford, England, set a new Guinness World Record after running a mile in 10 minutes 11 seconds while blindfolded. Perhaps you’re wondering why anyone would run blindfolded. It was for a good cause. Winter suffers from keratoconus, a vision-impairing eye disease, and he was raising money for a foundation that supports medical breakthroughs in ophthalmology.
Pity those who run the race of life blindfolded! What if there was no divine plan for our life? What if every step was a gamble and every mile a riddle? What if we had to take our life journey without God’s guidance?
Thankfully, there is a divine plan for us. God knows and orders the arrangement for every day. He knows tomorrow as well as He knows yesterday. And He invites us to ask Him for guidance at every point. He guides us with His eye, so that our own eyes can see the way.
If you’re at a juncture now or facing some hard decisions, claim the promise of Psalm 32:8—He will guide you with His eye.
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Post by Redeemed on Jun 3, 2023 6:07:52 GMT -8
June 3 - Step Off, Step On
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.
Proverbs 4:14-15 NIV
An ancient Chinese proverb says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Even long and difficult undertakings have a starting point; you can’t begin a long journey at the halfway point. You must begin at the beginning.
The Bible speaks of journeys and paths, referring to the journey of life. It also speaks of first steps: “Do not set foot on the path of the wicked” (Proverbs 4:14, NIV). The point here is that the path of wickedness will not mysteriously turn into the path of righteousness. We must avoid the path of wickedness. Or if we are already on that path, we need to depart from it.
Stepping off that path is what the Bible calls repentance and faith. The journey of life with God begins by stepping off one path and stepping onto another.
Repentance means to change one’s mind, to turn and go in another direction. Such a choice is a step of faith—the first step on a lifelong journey with God.
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Post by Redeemed on Jun 4, 2023 3:49:17 GMT -8
June 4- Foresight
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
A nearsighted person can see things clearly that are close to them but not things that are far away. The opposite is someone who is farsighted, or in this case foresighted: having the ability to focus on things that are far away, or in the future. As Christians, we are called to focus on both—the present (near) and the future (far away). But sometimes we lose sight of the blessings yet to come.
Saints in the Old Testament were intentionally foresighted—they had a clearer vision of eternity than they had of the present. Hebrews 11:1–21 tells us of people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob. Their earthly lives ended without realizing the complete fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ, but they didn’t mind. They knew they were aliens and strangers on earth, citizens of a better country—a heavenly one. And we should have the same kind of sight, focusing on the future as well as the present.
What are you focused on? Don’t let your present circumstances, whether joys or sorrows, obscure your vision from the eternal blessings to come.
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Post by Redeemed on Jun 5, 2023 3:58:37 GMT -8
June 5 - The Light of Life
But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 4:18
For most of the day, there seems to be little change in the amount of light. But the magic hour of dawn is when we see a distinct change take place: Darkness is slowly invaded by light. It is slow, but it is also consistent. Once the light begins to appear, the darkness never overtakes it until the sun sets again at dusk.
Solomon used the dawn to illustrate the increasing light in which the righteous walk throughout their life. The “path of the just” becomes clearer and clearer as the light dawns, and for all of one’s life the light “shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” in which darkness is done away with forever in eternity. When we first become a Christian, the light of the knowledge of God is just beginning to break in our heart. Things may not seem as clear as we want; we still stumble over obstacles in our path. But the longer we walk, the brighter the light shines.
Wherever you are on your path with God, as you walk faithfully with Him, He will shine more light on your path “unto the perfect day.”
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Post by Redeemed on Jun 6, 2023 4:11:37 GMT -8
June 6 - Serve Like Jesus
[Jesus], being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
Philippians 2:6-7
A British television franchise begun in 2009 has now been exported to nearly twenty nations around the world. The premise of Undercover Boss is that a high-ranking executive, sometimes the company CEO, goes to work undercover in one of the company’s locations to get an inside look at internal workings.
After a week or two, the undercover boss is revealed to the shock of employees—they never imagined a company president working alongside them in a menial task. Sometimes hardworking employees are rewarded with gifts or promotions for their service as witnessed by the boss.
In a very loose sense, Jesus was an “undercover boss” who left the glory of heaven to walk among humanity on earth (Philippians 2:6–8). To use His words, He came to serve, not to be served. His leadership style is one He recommended to His followers: The greatest among you must first become the least. The CEO of heaven and earth became like one of us—and even promises to reward us for our faithfulness (1 Corinthians 3:10–15)!
Wherever you go today, let your purpose be the same as Jesus’ purpose: to serve rather than to be served. His servant’s heart is a model for our own.
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Post by Redeemed on Jun 7, 2023 4:55:35 GMT -8
June 7 - Face to Face
[We] shall see His face.
Revelation 22:4
In 1951, a red-headed toddler named Ken Beeton fell into the Manning River in Australia. He was eighteen months old. A nine-year-old boy named Ken Gibson was walking along, saw the drowning child, and heroically managed to pull him to safety.
Seventy years passed, and Beeton, now 71, decided to find out what happened to his rescuer. He tracked down Gibson, now 78, and the two met face to face for an emotional reunion. “I might not have been here without him, so I’m saying thank you,” an emotional Beeton said, to which Gibson smiled and replied, “You’re welcome.”
We’ve been rescued by the Stranger of Galilee who walked past just when we were drowning in our sins. One day we’ll see Him face to face in New Jerusalem and say, “I wouldn’t be here without You, so I’m saying thank You.”
The Bible says we will see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). Let’s anticipate the day when we will physically see the face of Christ. What a glorious thought!
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