Today's Godly Reminder - Ephesians 1:7

Through Christ, we have deliverance and salvation. In which, He paid the penalty and resulted in the forgiveness and complete pardon of our sin. This is in accordance with the generosity of His gracious favor. Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!

So overflowing is His kindness toward us that He took away all our sins through the blood of His Son, by whom we are saved. Christ sacrificed His life’s blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now forgiven. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.

The Daily Grace - An Important Command

When asked to identify the most important rule in life, Jesus replied, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). In those words, Jesus summed up what God most desires from us. I wonder how I can possibly learn to love God with all my heart, soul and mind. Neal Plantinga remarks on a subtle change in this commandment as recorded in the New Testament. Deuteronomy charges us to love God with all our heart, soul and strength (Mark 6:5). Jesus added the word mind. Platinga explains, "You shall love God with everything you have and everything you are. Everything".

That helps us change our perspective. As we learn to love God with everything, we begin to see our difficulties as "our light and momentary troubles" - just as the apostle Paul described his grueling ordeals. He had in mind a "far more exceeding and eternal. . . glory" (2 Cor. 4:17). In the advanced school of prayer, where one loves God with the entire soul, doubts and struggles do not disappear, but their effect on us diminishes. "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19), and our urgent questions recede as we learn to trust His ultimate goodness. The most treasured gift we can give to God is one that He can never force us to give - our love.

Today We Pray

Dear Lord, Your mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge; ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know You as You are, love You supremely, serve You completely, admire You fully.

My sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what my lips tremble to name, what my heart can no longer bear, and what has become for me a consuming fire of judgment. Set me free from a past that I cannot change; open to me a future in which I can be changed; and grant me grace to grow more and more in Your likeness and image.

In utter humility I thank You and glorify You, that You might hear the prayer of one so small as myself, amidst the billions of souls among billions of stars in one of billions of galaxies in Your universe. Let me go forth in Your peace, keeping Your Spirit always in my mind. And bless me, I pray, that I might always follow Your will and live in the radiance of Your blessing.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Galatians 2:16

Yet, we know that a man is not justified and placed in right standing with God by works of the Law. But, only through faith in God’s beloved Son, Christ Jesus. And, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law, no one will ever be justified or declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. 

But we know that God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith.

The Daily Grace - For Our Health

According to a prominent Duke University Medical Center researcher, "If thankfulness were a drug, it would be the world's best-selling product with [health benefits] for every major organ system". For some, being thankful means simply living with a sense of gratitude - taking time to recognize and focus on the things we have, instead of the things we wish we had. The Bible takes the idea of thankfulness to a deeper level. The act of giving thanks causes us to recognize the One who provides our blessings (James 1:17).

David knew that God was responsible for the safe delivery of the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem (1 Chron. 15:26). As a result, he penned a song of gratitude that centered on God instead of simply expressing his delight in an important event. The ballad began: "Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; made known among the nations what he has done" (16:8). David's song went on to rejoice in God's greatness, highlighting God's salvation, creative power, and mercy (vv. 25-36).

Today we can be truly thankful by worshiping the Giver instead of the gifts we enjoy. Focusing on the good things in our lives may benefit our bodies, but directing our thanks to God benefits our souls. True thanksgiving emphasizes the Giver rather than the gifts. Be thankful today!

Today We Pray

Dear God, as I stumble through this life, help me to create more laughter than tears, dispense more cheer than gloom, spread more joy than despair. Let me remind those I meet that our final existence will be a total joy. And that, we may taste this joy through the Spirit even today.

Never let me become so indifferent that I will fail to see the wonder in the eyes of a child, or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged. Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them happy, and forget momentarily all the temporary unpleasantness in their lives. And in my final moment, may I hear You whisper, “When you made My people smile, you made Me smile.”

There are people praying with me, right now, whom I will never meet. I don’t know their names, or what country they live in, or what they may look like, but I will know their souls, for we are brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that we might be united in the Holy Spirit and that I will know and feel the kinship and love, in my spirit, of those who share these prayers with me.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - 1 Chronicles 16:8

Let His Name be famous to the world. God is great and good, so let it be known among the nations. Thank God for everything. Call out his Name. Tell the whole world who He is and what He’s done.

Broadcast all His wonders. Revel His Holy Name. Seek His presence day and night. Remember all the wonders He performed, the miracles and judgments that came out of his mouth.