Today's Godly Reminder - 1 Chronicles 29:11

He belongs everything on this earth. He is the head of overall 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.

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 at 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 Jesus, be merciful to me; on Thy grace, I rest my plea; in Thy vast, abounding grace, my transgressions all erase. Wash me wholly from my sin. Cleanse from every ill within.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. Let Your Holy Spirit guide me in my prayer and in thought, and grant me the grace to listen and hear Your Word. Soften my heart, that I may be directed by Your truth, and not the devices of my body and mind.

Take my heart and hand. And, grant me this, I pray: that I, through Your sweet love may grow more like You day by day. In the name of Christ, I ask this.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Proverbs 4:23

Watch over your heart with all diligence. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard. For from, it flows the springs of life. It is the source of life’s consequences. So, keep vigilant over your heart; that’s where life starts.

Also, carefully guard your thoughts. Guard your affections. It is because they are the source of true life. They influence everything else in your life.

The Daily Grace - My Kind of People

Years ago in a worship service, pastor Ray Stedman stepped to the pulpit and read the text for the day: "Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people - none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that" (1 Cor. 6:9-11, NLT). Then he looked up, a bemused smile on his face, and said, "I'm curious: How many of you have one or more of these sinks in your background? If so, will you stand?"

There was a young man there who had never been in a church before. He had recently been saved at a Billy Graham crusade and came with fear and trembling to go to church that Sunday, not knowing what he would find. He later told a church leader that when he heard the pastor's question, he looked around to see if anyone would stand. At first, no one did, but then most of the congregation was on their feet. He said to himself, "These are my kind of people!"

We can all find ourselves in Paul's list in 1 Corinthians. But when we confess our sin and accept the gift of eternal life paid for by the death of Jesus, we become a new creation saved by grace (Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:17). God will always touch us to become a new creation. Nothing in our hand we bring, simply to the cross we cling.

Today We Pray

Dear Lord, the newness of this day calls me to an untried way. Let me gladly take the road; give me the strength to bear my load. Thou my guide and helper be — I will travel through with Thee.

Forgive my failures to love You fully in return. Forgive me for all the times I have disappointed those who love me or have disappointed You by failing those who might not even know who I am, but whom you have given me to love or help. Where I have brought sadness, anger or pain into the world, I pray that You forgive me, even if those who I have hurt will not or cannot.

Seek me out, and bring me home to Your fold again. Deal favorably with me according to Your good pleasure, until I may dwell in your house all the days of my life, and praise You forever and ever with them that are there. This I pray, in Your name.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Romans 6:23

The wages which sin pays is death.  Sin pays off with death. But, the bountiful free gift of God is eternal life through in union with Jesus Christ our Lord. Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. The verse is not speaking of physical death but is contrasting spiritual death with eternal life. The person who does not place his or her faith in Jesus Christ will receive the wages of sin. "The wages" refers to a payment. When a person works, the person receives a wage or payment for the work. 

How can we avoid the "wages of sin" and escape the spiritual death Romans 6:23 mentions? First, we must place our faith in Christ. Only He can save us (John 14:16). Then, out of our trust in Him and our love for Him (in response to His love for us; 1 John 4:19), we obey Him (John 14:15; John 15:1-11). Our obedience leads us to a more vibrant experience of true life (John 10:10). Paul wrote in Romans 6:22, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." As Christ-followers, we are free to live in obedience to God and undergo the process of sanctification. As part of that sanctification, we begin to experience eternal life even while on this earth (John 10:10; John 15:11). And, ultimately, we will spend eternity with God.