Today's Godly Reminder - Ephesians 3:17-19

"Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

Let the Lord dwell in Your hearts through your faith. Let Christ will live in your hearts because of your it. Be deeply rooted and securely grounded in His love. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in His love. Be fully capable of comprehending with all of God’s people the width and length and height and depth of His love. Indeed, it is fully experiencing that amazing and endless love of God's. May you have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself. Let us know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.

The Daily Grace - Words: Do They Matter?

I heard a teenager from a Christian family declare, "My mom doesn't think swear words are bad". He then indicated which words she found acceptable - words that have long been considered inappropriate. Society's standard of language has declined in recent years, but we don't have to decline with it. As we strive to be "very careful . . . how [we] live" (Eph. 5:15), we should think about how to honor God with our words.

We please the Lord with our tongue when we show discernment. "He who restrains his lips is wise", Proverbs 10:9 reminds us. When we do speak, we are to filter the words that escape our lips: "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles" (21:23). It is important to use kind, positive words - even to address tough subjects. "A harsh word stirs up anger", but "the tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly" (Prov. 15:1-2).

Finally, avoid words that reflect poorly on who we are as God's children. Paul's admonition to "let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth" (Eph. 4:29) sets a strong standard for the righteous use of words. To honor God in each part of life, use words that are pleasing and acceptable to a holy God. What we say reveals who we are.

Today We Pray

Dear Heavenly Father, I give You a million thanks that I have woken up alive this morning. It is a day that I will witness once again  the magnificence, the glory of your creation. Even on the dreariest of days, when the weather doesn't suit me, let me rejoice in the taste of heaven you give us on earth.

My heart finds peace, my soul is calm, when I reach out for Your hand. Make me and all who confess Your holy name people of this light. Make me faithful to Your Word that I may bring your life to the waiting world. 

The darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of Your Word made flesh. Let me be always filled with gratitude for the world You have given me, great God, Father and creator of all that is. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - James 1:26

"Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless."

If someone claims that he is religious, the one who scrupulously observant of the rituals of his faith, but does not control his tongue and deludes his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless, futile and barren. Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

Be the salt and light everywhere you go. Always have that good Christ-like character in your hearts and minds. You carry the light, so shine the light in the darkness. Be a good role model of Christ wherever you will go.

The Daily Grace - Recession Proof

In his sermon titled "What is the Recession For?", Pastor John Piper suggests that when the economy plummets, God has His own purposes. Some of them might be: 1) To expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing; 2) To wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world, where there is always and only recession of the worst kind; 3) To relocate the roots of our joy in His grace rather than in our goods, in His mercy rather than in our money, in His worth rather than in our wealth; 4) To advance His saving mission in the world - the spread of the gospel and the growth of His church - precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it; 5) To bring His church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.

What else does God want to teach us in difficult times? That nothing is impossible with Him (Luke 1:37). That He who owns "the cattle on a thousand hills" (Ps. 50:10) is not limited by an economic downturn. That God hasn't placed a moratorium on the Great Commission nor abandoned us (Matt. 28:20). Let's not put our hopes on worldly prosperity but on the One who owns it all! When all you have is God, you have all you need.

Today We Pray

Dear Lord, as I come before You this morning, my spirit is filled with thanks that You have given me a life and filled it with meaning. Knowing that You have a purpose for me is such a gift as I cannot express. Even when the world or my own thoughts fill me with feelings of worthlessness, I can turn to You and know, fully certain, that You are in charge and have filled my existence with meaning and purpose I cannot fully understand.

You promised that if we love You and obey Your teaching, You and the Father will make Your home with us. I declare my love for You. And, there is nothing I want more than to have You live with me, present in my life.

Help me to follow Your teaching in every way, for you have given us grace, that by Your death and resurrection, we may be perfect before You. Accept my love and be with me, today and always. I pray, not by my merit, but by Your grace.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - 1 Chronicles 29:11

"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all."

He belongs everything in this earth. He is the head of over all dominions here in this world. The Kingdom is also His. Indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth, it is His.

That is how sovereign the Lord is. He is indeed mighty and worthy to be exalted. He is worthy to be bowed down and to be adored. His love is indeed as vast as the universe because He made it beautiful for us. His creations are always perfect.