When we cry out, the Lord listens.
His children watch Him and ask Him for favor.
When we love the world and the things of the world.
God teaches.
I am His child. So I purify myself.
I trust in the name of the Lord, and He has freed me from the net of sin and Hell.
As a child of God, I don't ever walk in darkness. Ever.
I can throw off the old sinful nature and put on the new self.
Believers must pay attention and not drift.
Jesus wants me to cry to Him in the battle.
I must patiently trust the Lord.
Walk with humility and gentleness.
God expresses His love through His children.
We must intercede on behalf of others.
The apostle Paul implies that the children of God can be content in every situation.
Love God and keep His commandments...
God uses me, a fool, to show His love to the world.
When the Lord sweeps up, the dirt is gone.
God is right here listening. Now.
The Lord tells me to keep my promises and it matters.
When you were dead, Christ made you alive, nailing your debt to the cross.
I must return to the Lord quickly whenever I am convicted.
Believers in Jesus hold the key to perfect peace right in their hand.
In my struggle, even when my own heart condemns me, He reassures my heart.
He gives me mercy, peace, and love, multiplied and teaches me to bless others with the same.
God is greater than our hearts!
I get to ask the Lord to be gracious to me!
I can ask the Lord to make my steps steady.
When I'm not paying attention, even though I'm a believer, I stumble into idolatry.
We can do what is right and still miss important things He wants us to do.
He is in me. And He has overcome the world.
I can walk in the light. Why? Because I am a believer and Jesus says I can.
King David asks God to turn to him and be gracious. I can too.
I am in godliness training.
I get to ask the Lord to be merciful to me, to heal me.
He restores and strengthens me; it doesn't always feel so good.
I must cry out to the Lord when I've fallen.
Jesus is ready to grant "me" everything. And he prays for me.
Trusting God feels so hard sometimes.
I am dead to sin and alive to Christ.
He has poured out His Holy Spirit on me.
The Lord loves me in ways that I can barely imagine.
There's no point in trying to hide from God. In fact, the reverse is true. Go to Him with your hurts, habits, and hang ups.
Bible reading, memorization, and meditation are vital to the believer.
I am so forgiven!
God protects me.
My relationship with God is something to cultivate.
He has cleaned me from the inside out. And He keeps at it.
When I am troubled, God counsels me.
When He says every spiritual blessing, He means it.
God helps me accomplish the purposes He has for me.
The Lord weaves my life into the tapestry of His plan.
I need His gift of wisdom today.
I don't have to live according to the Flesh anymore.
I want to have faith that grows. Today.
God is for His children.
Run away from sin. Run toward God and His grace.
Return to the Lord.
Trusting in God leads to not being ashamed.
The Lord is helping me in the midst of my temptation.
I want to pray huge Apostle Paul kinds of prayers.
Reaching out to the One True God.
Lay your sin out before the Lord. He forgives.
In my struggles, I get to ask the Lord for help. In fact, I must ask Him.
Set your mind for action and set your hope on the right thing!
Believers learn to wait on the Lord.
The Lord is with those He loves.
When I walk in the Spirit, I am filled with good desires, and He fulfills those with joy.
Anxiety is directly related to trust.
The Bible clearly states His compassion toward me.
Jesus really is the only way.
Jesus gives us a pathway to peace in our lives.
Proper anger motivates the believer to righteous action.
The love of money is a stumbling block for believers.
Pursue righteousness and kindness.
God's power is mighty for those who believe.
I am a believer who sins.
The bible says much about humility. Not only does it tell us to be humble, but it also declares promises for the humble.
I am redeemed, according to His riches.
Hosea 6:3 says to strive to know the Lord. How do I do that?
He beat sin, so he helps me with mine.
Why do I need to study scripture today? To be equipped. For what? EVERY good work.
I follow Him not the other way around.
He gave them (me) the right to be children of God.
I once believed that to set my mind on the Spirit was boring.
His grace is plenty for me. His power is perfected in my weakness.
I'm all caught up in the first part of the verse that says, "...work out your salvation." I get worn out with the working out and the fear and trembling. Only because I forget about the second part that says God works in me for His good purpose.
Sometimes, I'm like that weekend sports warrior who wakes up so stiff feeling useless to God. Those days I don't feel like I'm any good to the kingdom. I'm slowly learning even on those days to take that mustard seed of faith, and plant it.
The bible tells me to take every thought captive. Every thought. This verse says WHATEVER I do, do EVERYTHING for the glory of God. Okay, let’s get real here: I fall short. By miles.
It's not about being self-righteous. Any righteousness I live out comes from the one true God because He rescued me from death and destruction. And so I can sow. Now, I get to reap faithful love. What? I get to!
I want to have a deep, automatic understanding of who I am in Christ. What does it really mean to be a Christian? It means to obey. Him for sure. And anyone whom He says I must obey. Is that easy? No. It plainly isn't.
Sometimes I think I get to act like a sinner. But what a joke, right? I can't do it. It makes me miserable. I belong, all of me, to Him. I'm His possession.
And He asks me to keep His commands. So you know what? I can.
And as I became aware that my thoughts and ideas about who I am in Christ were skewed, He said to me that He was going to handle this little by little. Why? Because that's actually better for me, healthier.
Jesus nailed my sins to the cross. He has died for my sins, forgiving me; He has done the same for all who will accept it, turning to Him, repenting of their sin.
If I call out, I will not get left out. God requires a relationship. For me to call out humbly, is part of that relationship.
Do I seek with all of my heart and with all of my soul? Sometimes, I think. But the Lord is seeking me. And I am responding more and more.
The passage ends with this phrase: "We have the mind of Christ." I don't, don't, don't get it. Yet. Okay, I get a little bit of what that means. And it IS what God is doing in me.
I am a believer. So, I am putting off my former way of life, my old self (today). I know when I was saved, I put off the former self, I was renewed. I was justified. An act done by God in the courts of heaven. Amen. Yet, I am still being sanctified.
I have everything I need for life and godliness. Everything. God has equipped me through the knowledge of Him.
I have spent so much of my life embarrassed by my falling, that I've tried to cover it up over and over again. When I cover, I corrupt the healing process; I create more pain, spreading it to my loved ones. But here's the good news (can you feel a brand new day!). The Lord helps the fallen.
As a believer, I have often wandered away from Him. In some sense, I stray every day. He calls me back.
My hope must be in the Lord. I don't know what He has in mind. It's His plan, not mine.
The Lord says don't be shy about my requests!
The Lord wants me to ask Him for help. That's when He shows His righteousness.
Doing God's will didn't just come to me magically when I was reborn, but my desire to obey began to emerge.
According to the verse, the Lord directs my heart to the love of God. This is a divine work of God. I want to use the word magic, but that would be wrong. It's a miracle. Does that seem too strong a thing to say?
I am in Christ. I am a new creation. This is His promise. The old has passed away. He says, "Behold!" Look here. Don't miss this: The new has come. Since I am new, it follows that the Lord will work that new creatureliness out in me.
And I get to pray for other believers. This verse teaches me how I can pray for them, and more importantly what I can expect from God.
Do it heartily for the Lord. To do things for the Lord, I need to practice His presence. I must remember He is with me. I am seeking Him. Praying.
I am blessed to have godly friends that I reach to. They reach out to me too. We listen to and help each other. They remind me to be bold, to forgive, to make amends, and to be honest. They are Christ-like though they might not ever describe themselves that way.
Now, how do I get to the part where I am not afraid when the mountains get shoved into the ocean? I don't know. But He is clearly saying that I don't have to be afraid. For I'm a child of the true God, the deliverer who brought a nation out of Egypt.
I am a believer in Jesus who died and rose again, and ascended to heaven. And yet I struggle with trusting the Lord. There's something in me that wants to control things. My pride sprouts up easily.
It's hard to change a man, to reach down inside and take out the pride virus and install a new program called humility.
Here's what I've learned. Trust the Lord. Trust Him, eyes locked. Don't waver. Yes, I do waver. But I know to hone back in to the true source. Scripture. Godly preaching. Fellowship with believers. Prayer. I matter to Him. He loves me. He will never leave me.
Believers come to the light. I am a believer in Jesus, the light. I am a child of the light. I want to be in the light as He is in the light. Yet, I don't always feel so "lighty." I can feel so foggy.
God always pushes in. He always shows up and says, “What are you doing? I’m right here to help.” And finally in great desperation, I reach out, and cry out to Him.
He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is above all powers. All. There aren’t other gods. He is the one and only.
What characterizes a believer? A believer in Jesus is anxious for nothing. I love how the scripture uses words like "nothing." It leaves no out, no wiggle room. The bible says it, so this is possible for me. I can be anxious for nothing.
I'm reaching forward to the things ahead. I'm in motion. If I sit around, I get moldy, and slip back into my mess.
What I know for certain is this: I am not God. I serve Him. I follow Him. I rely on Him. That sounds great. And it is. But I am a mess. Still, He works. How many times I have thought I could be my own savior!
He formed me. And smack dab in the middle of my messy rebellion, He redeemed me (bought me) out of the darkness into His glorious light.
What I can say for a fact is this: I am being healed. It is happening. I see it in others too. In a few short months, I have seen God work in my life. Confession. Healing. Joy. These are part of my life. Daily. But, oh, I'm not kidding, it seems so slow!
Just look at this trio: Rejoice ALWAYS. Pray Without CEASING. In EVERYTHING give thanks. And just to make sure I don't miss it, He says: This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Who am I in Christ? I am this: dearly loved. Sacrificially so.
In Him I have a way to Him.
I am His workmanship. Part of that is that He is teaching me, patiently.
I'm a fool. I'm not saying that I'm stupid, but I fall into quicksin... I mean quicksand so easily. And he rescues me.
I find it fascinating and annoying that the scripture often says, "Fear not." At first, it seems like such a rotten thing to say to someone who is anxious! Just stop that freight train of anxiety. Stop it. But it's a FREIGHT TRAIN. I can't stop it.
When I get real, then, I begin to understand. "Give me understanding according to your word." I can begin to get at it. I can sort it out with His word. But if I wallow in denial, even looking in His word will be futile. My pain must be honestly expressed.
I get to ask the Lord to be gracious to me because He loves me.
I am a child of the one true God. I am His servant. The songwriter of this Psalm just up and says, "Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love." Oh, I want to have the faith and courage to talk to God like that.
Grace is given according to the measure of Christ's gift. He has infinitely more even when we think He's given it all.
He reminds me that I am loved. That I am His child, chosen. He revives me. Breathes encouragement into my fragmented thoughts.
He reminds me again and again to walk in the Spirit, to walk in the Light. To always pray in the Spirit. I'm not expected to fight the good fight by myself!
I have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. That's what the verse says. I have crucified, past tense. So, why do I put on that old rotten corpse of my flesh again to try to serve Him, to battle sin, or even do this thing called life? Makes no sense!
To live a Christ honoring life he gave me power. How often do I see myself as powerful? To be honest, not often. Except for that arrogant kind of powerful. I feel that. That power is anger which is powered by fear and shame. That's not the power he gives.
I always knew I wanted to be a serious believer. Then, I'd see verses like this and my heart would sink. Here's why: the first part is fine, glory in His holy name, okay. Then, let the heart rejoice for those who seek the Lord. Still, I'm with it. Seek the Lord and His strength. Yes. I can do that.
Walking in the light is the opposite of living in denial. Living in denial is where I'm comfortable. I feel shame, avoid God, avoid people. Isolate. But we are made to be in relationships.
The Lord said to his people, the enemy is coming but fear not, I am handling it. Contentment. He provides for me. He sustains me. He puts my feet on a solid rock. And He tells me to be godly. Godliness and contentment. They go together.
He gives me humble power. Humble - I know it's not me. Power - It is the Lord. I can't do. God can do. I welcome Him to do in my life. To fill me up. To do MORE than I can even think to ask.
What does it mean to seek His presence continually? It means don't cut off contact, don't hang up the phone. When I think the conversation with the Lord is over, it's not. He created me to know Him.
How a believer knows He matters to God...
Sin does not define me. I am a believer, a lover of God, His word, and his church. Even when I feel like a mess, a sin slob. Why? Because Jesus paid my sin debt in full.
Contentment: what a blessing! Not feeling hassled, not feeling anxious, though the winds of trouble blow, content. That comes straight from the Lord. As does godliness.
I have peace with God. If I am trying to work for peace with God, I am wasting my time. I'm already justified. But I know I get this confused sometimes.
Today, I am steadfast, immovable, ALWAYS abounding in the work of the Lord, and I know that in the Lord my labor, my work, is not for nothing. It is for His kingdom. And He wins. I'm on the winning side. Today.
In my walk with Him, I am to lay my needs down before Him. I tell Him that I need Him and His power.
Okay, so I need to hear it 25 times before it begins to sink in! That's why I must soak in the Word over and over and over. I must read it. Hear it preached. Read the works of godly men. And fellowship with other believers who love the Word too.
In some sense, I reflect His glory. How can that be. I feel that I am always struggling to stand firm in the faith as it says in 1 Corinthians. Still, I reflect His glory. And this verse speaks to this process when it says, "We... are being transformed into His image."
Setting my mind on the Spirit is an action that I do. Being a Christian is not passive.
Stand firm in the faith He says. Now, I'm stuck. I have wavered all over the place in my faith. Faith? Yes. He gives me the gift of faith again and again.
God loves me. He bought me with a price. I am a grateful follower of Him. I serve Him. And I can trust that the scriptures are meant for me. Today.
The Lord is good to me. I want to be a man who sees that and says it. Who knows it in my innermost thoughts where that awareness bubbles up regularly.
Enduring temptation is part of what forges a believer into the warrior God is training.
Temptation is not sin. I get tempted. Everyone does. It is part of the fabric of being human, even believers. And I might think that this temptation is unique to me. That I need to work my way through it in my own way. That's just my pride. "I got this. No one can help me."
How a believer in Jesus "counts it all joy" when in trial...