Today We Pray

Dear Lord, what a privilege it is to say "yes" to You each day. Thank You for loving me and forgiving me. Guide me in all my choices today and help me to serve You faithfully. 

I pray to You now, take up my burdens while I am on earth, today, just as You will take them up when I am with You in heaven. By the grace You gave me through the sacrifice of Your only Son, relieve me. May I do Your will while I am alive, just as I will do Your will when I am together with You again, in paradise. 

May I go in peace, with Go, and with his other children. May we love one another as Christ taught us. May I follow the example of good men of old, and may God comfort and help me and all who believe in Him, both in this world and in the world which is to come.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Joshua 24:15

In this verse, Joshua calls upon the Lord’s people to make a decision. He was literally saying, “If it seems like serving the Lord is the wrong thing to do, then choose whom you will serve.”  He then makes that bold statement that he and his house, or family, would serve the Lord.  Make no mistake, Joshua declared that he and his family would serve the one true God…Jehovah. It is so impressive that Joshua, as the head of his family, declared that his family would serve the Lord.  He rightfully took upon Himself to lead his wife and children in obedience to God’s Word. 

Let me ask you, fellow believer, do you fear the Lord?  Do you reverence Him above all?  Do you desire to serve Him in sincerity and truth?  Do you desire to have the Lord as your ‘all in all’? As a child of God, give the Lord your whole heart.  Fix your eyes upon Him and learn of Him and His ways.  Make that choice today. 

The Daily Grace - The Beauty of Rome

The glory of the Roman Empire offered an expansive backdrop for the birth of Jesus. In 27 BC Rome's first emperor, Caesar Augustus, ended 200 years of civil war and began to replace rundown neighborhoods with monuments, temples, arenas, and government complexes. According to Roman historian Pliny the Elder, they were "the most beautiful buildings the world has ever seen". Yet even with her beauty, the Eternal City and its empire had a history of brutality that continued until Rome fell. Thousands of slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and army deserters were crucified on roadside poles as a warning to anyone who dared to defy the power of Rome.

What irony that Jesus' death on a Roman cross turned out to reveal an eternal glory that made the pride of Rome looks like the momentary beauty of a sunset! Who could have imagined that in the public curse and agony of the cross we would find the eternal glory of the love, presence, and kingdom of our God? Who could have foreseen that all heaven and earth would one day sing, "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" (Rev. 5:12). The Lamb who died is the Lord who lives!

Today We Pray

Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to reflect the heart of Your sacrifice for the world. May Your love become our love, Your life our life, and Your glory our never-ending joy. Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me.

May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound Your praise. Let those around see me living by Your Spirit, trampling the world underfoot, unconfirmed to lying vanities, transformed by a renewed mind, clothed in the entire armor of God, shining as a never-dimmed light, showing holiness in all my doings. Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, and hands.

Order this day all my communications according to Your wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good. Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable. This I pray, in Christ's Name.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Revelations 5:12

This verse is an adoration to our one and living God. It is because His glory shines in us. It signifies confession from the heart that the Lord as to the Divine Human has omnipotence, omniscience, Divine good, and Divine truth. The "lamb who was slain" signifies Jesus, who sacrificed Himself for us to die for our sins. It celebrates the virtue and efficacy of his sufferings and death.

That’s what Jesus did for us. Satan had us caged and was going to feed us into the jaws of eternal death. But Jesus Christ purchased us, cage and all, and set us free. We’re going to be worshipping Him for all eternity because He paid that price. We need to start practicing our worship down here because He alone is worthy.

The Daily Grace - You Have Purpose

On a hot day in Western Texas, my niece Vania saw a woman standing by a stoplight and holding up a sign. As she drove closer, she tried to read what the sign said, assuming it was a request for food or money. Instead, she was surprised to see these three words: "You Have Purpose".

God has created each of us for a specific purpose. Primarily that purpose is to bring honor to Him, and one way we do that is by meeting the needs of others (1 Peter 4:10-11). A mother of young children may find purpose in wiping runny noses and telling her kids about Jesus. An employee in an unsatisfying job might find his purpose in doing his work conscientiously, remembering it is the Lord he is serving (Col. 3:23-24). A woman who has lost her sight still finds purpose in praying for her children and grandchildren and influencing them to trust God.

Psalm 139 says that before we were born "all the days ordained for [us] were written in [His] book" (v. 16). We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" to bring glory to our Creator (v. 14). Never forget: You have purpose! Even when everything seems meaningless, God still has a purpose for your life.

Today We Pray

Dear Lord, as I cross the threshold of this day I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to Your care. Incline my heart to Your ways. Mold me completely into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay.

I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I know You are the only way to God so now I want to quit disobeying You and start living for You. Please forgive me, change my life and show me how to know You.

It often seems that our lives swing from drudgery to challenges we don't want. Today help us to see You in the midst of whatever faces us. Show us a small glimpse of the purpose and meaning You bring to everything.

Amen