Word for Today, Mon, 20, Jan 2003: Weekly Verses
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
I'd like to share with you this week's edition of Weekly Verses,
a compilation of the Heartlight Daily Verse, also distributed as
Today's Verse, the short collection of scripture verses, thoughts
about the verse, and a brief prayer. You can find the individual
collection of these verses and a slightly different edition at
the Web page
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/devotionals/heartlight/. You can
also subscribe to this weekly collection or any of the other
devotionals at http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/devotionals/.
Later, I'll be sharing my own thoughts on a message my own
pastor shared with our local church congregation this past
weekend. I encourage each of you to attend a church in your
local area. If you're having difficulty finding a good local
church, use the Web as a resource to hunt for what you're
looking for. Most churches these days have at least some
information about what they emphasize on a Web page. Some of
them, like my own church, even make online streaming audio and/or
video of church sermons and other resources available online.
You can use such resources to find a local group in your area.
Such resources can also be used to supplement weekly church
activities, but I do not recommend them as a replacement for the
local church. The local church, for better or worse, is still
the primary resource that God has chosen as a vehicle for
believers everywhere to gather and to encourage one another. I
encourage each of you to participate and help make your own local
church a better place.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
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____________________________
Weekly Verses
from Crosswalk.com
link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.23.9875.1.293748
January 20, 2003
These verses are taken from TODAY'S VERSE, by Phil Ware
link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.23.9875.2.293748
~~~~~~~~~
MONDAY
God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are
therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his
appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be
reconciled to God.
--2 Corinthians 5:19-20
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
The price has been paid. The ransom is provided. God's
judgment was averted, not because of anything we did to appease
him, but by his own sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. If God
has gone to such great lengths to reconcile us to himself and
adopt us into his family, how can we refuse? We must not!
Father God, we offer you our hearts!
MY PRAYER...
O Gracious God, I know my sin has broken your heart and
offended your holiness. Words, therefore, cannot communicate
my thankfulness to you. You were hurt by my sin and yet
provided a sacrifice to redeem me from it and reconcile me to
you. I praise you for your grace, thank you for your love, and
promise to share your mercy. Through Jesus my sacrifice I
pray. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~
TUESDAY
If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a
liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has
seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given
us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his
brother."
--1 John 4:20-21
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Love! The word can mean anything. Many in the Christian
community have tried to define it by a dictionary or lexicon,
not realizing the key word for love, agape, is defined by
action. Before Christians got a hold of agape, it meant the
same thing our word today does: just about anything! But if
you read 1 John, you see what love is by what God does. God
demonstrates his love. He asks us to do the same for our
brothers and sisters. Love must be more than talk, it must be
genuinely demonstrated in action!
MY PRAYER...
Precious Father, you have so graciously shared your love
with me. I must confess, in my heart I intend to love others
as you do, but my intentions often get washed away with
"busy-ness" or timidity. Father, through your Spirit, prompt
me to show my love to others in actions rather than just
thought and talk. Through Jesus, your greatest demonstration
of love I pray. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~
WEDNESDAY
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my
disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free."
--John 8:31-32
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
There are few things more coveted than freedom. People die
for it. People pray for it. People strive for it. True
freedom comes from knowing truth. Knowing truth only comes by
living in obedience to Jesus. Truth is not something you
merely think about or believe. Truth is something you do, you
live. Jesus' teaching always ends with the exclamation:
Blessed are you who do these things! Only by doing will we
ever know the truth that liberates us.
MY PRAYER...
To the only true God be glory, honor, power, and praise.
Father, I seek not only your presence in my daily life, but
also your pleasure in the choices I make. Please teach me more
of your truth as I pledge to live today in obedience to your
word and your will. Through Jesus the living Word I pray.
Amen.
~~~~~~~~~
THURSDAY
Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the
sinful nature.
--Galatians 5:16
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
I want you to think about an orange rhinoceros flying with
blue wings. Now quit, I don't want you to think about it
anymore. You know there is no such thing as an orange rhino
that flies, much less one that flies on blue wings. Oh course
the point is simple: the more we try to not do something, the
more we focus on it and ensure we do what we are not supposed
to do. That's why the gift of the Holy Spirit is so important.
He enables and empowers us to move beyond our sin -- not by
focusing on it and refusing it, but by enriching us and
"distracting" us with the important things of God.
MY PRAYER...
Abba Father, I thank you so much for your Holy Spirit that
lives in me and is now interceding with you for me. Please
fill me with your Spirit so that my life more nearly reflects
your will and focuses on your concerns. Through Jesus, who
poured out your Spirit upon me at my baptism, I pray. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~
FRIDAY
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may
become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a
crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars
in the universe as you hold out the word of life.
--Philippians 2:14-16
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Stars. They've always been a source of constant hope for
God's people. "Your descendants will be like the stars," God
told Abraham. "When I see the stars, what is man that you are
mindful of him?" the Psalms ask. The Wisemen from the East
followed a star to Jesus. Luke reminds us that Jesus was a
bright star come to us from heaven to shine God's light to
those in darkness. And now, we're stars. God's points of
light in the dark sky of the universe. So let's make today a
day where our light shines God's glory to a dark world around
us.
MY PRAYER...
Almighty God, the incredible expanse of your universe, with
its billions of stars, exceeds my limited comprehension. But I
thank you for calling me to be a light in the dark world around
me and I pledge to shine your light today in the lives of all
those I can. Through the name of the Bright and Morning Star I
pray. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~
SATURDAY
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you
can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way
out so that you can stand up under it.
--1 Corinthians 10:13
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
TEMPTATION... We've all been there. Satan's silver bullet
designed just for our heart. "No one will ever know, besides
it won't hurt anybody!" some mysterious voice sounding like
our own whispers inside our head. Even if those two statements
were true, and they never really are, it would matter because
something inside of us caved in to what we knew was wrong. One
line of defense is to simply remind ourselves we are not alone
in this temptation -- others have faced it and conquered it, so
we can too, by God's help and the power of his Holy Spirit.
~~~~~~~~~
SUNDAY
In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,
for this sums up the Law and the prophets.
--Matthew 7:12
New International Version
THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
The Golden Rule -- golden because it's genuine, lasting, and
valuable. Imagine how different our world would be if we
practiced this principle -- not just in our "church life" but
in our daily life with our family, with our coworkers and
employer, with the people we manage, with the folks on the
freeway and in the neighborhoods where we drive, toward the
waiters and waitresses who serve us. What a wonderfully
different world it would be if the Golden Rule were to be
practiced. I think I'll start changing my world with it today!
How about you?
MY PRAYER...
Generous Father, you have blessed me with so many rich and
wonderful gifts. I can never repay you. One thing I want you
to know, dear Father, is that I especially appreciate the way
you have treated me with grace and not with justice or
judgment. Give me the power to do the same with the people my
life touches this week. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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____________________________________________________________
=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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