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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:43 pm
December 27 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. — Luke 2:20 (NIV)Thoughts on Today's Verse...Can you imagine the shepherds returning to their flocks after the night they had? They had seen God's glory. They had experienced the presence of angels. They had seen the newborn King, the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world. Even more amazing, it was just as they had been told. As amazing as the angel's words of announcement had been, they were gloriously fulfilled. In addition to all that Jesus was at the moment of his birth, he is also the absolute answer to God's greatest promises and the greatest assurance that God keeps his word. Incredibly, God had chosen shepherds, unnamed to us and unimportant to their peers, to be the witnesses and participants in God's glorious story of salvation. It is our Father's way of reminding us that no matter who we are, Jesus came for us because we are important to him! My Prayer...Lord God Almighty, I can only imagine what it was like for those shepherds who experienced your glory. However, dear Father, I do know how much Jesus means to me. I praise you for loving me and reaching my heart with your grace. Sanctify me and make me righteous through the work of your Holy Spirit as I seek to live my life in appreciation for all that you have done for me. In Jesus' glorious name. Amen.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:52 am
December 28 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. — John 1:18 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Jesus is God's greatest message. He not only proclaims and declares God's love, mercy, and grace; he has made it known. Only Jesus can display God to us fully, for he is one with the Father. Yet when we "see" Jesus ministering in the Gospels, we see God. If we want to know how God feels about us, all we have to do is look at how Jesus ministers to others. If we want to know what God would do for us, we can notice what Jesus does to bless others. Jesus is our window to the Father's heart. So as this year winds down, and as you stand in the afterglow of Christmas, why not make a commitment to get to know Jesus better in this coming year by spending more time with him in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)? If you do, you will better know God! My Prayer...Thank you, Father, for giving me a window to your heart through the life and ministry of Jesus. Please bless me as I seek to know you better by knowing, understanding, and following Jesus more passionately. I pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:33 pm
December 29 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. — John 1:11 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Jesus came to his own things -- the world he had created and the land he had promised his people -- and his very own people didn't receive him. Sometimes we are blinded by our desires and dreams for Jesus and we really miss what he wants for us and from us. Let's not let the following be true in our lives. "Jesus came to me, but I wasn't ready to receive him. I had other things I wanted to do and other things I wanted to experience before I fully surrendered my heart to him." Each time we put off surrendering our will to Jesus, each time we push him away as Lord, we allow our hearts to harden and it becomes easier and easier to push him away. Now, while our hearts are still attentive to his grace, let's renew our commitment to him afresh and completely offer him our hearts and lives for his glory and grace. My Prayer...Holy God, I surrender my heart to your will. Precious Jesus, now more than ever in my life, I recognize you as my Lord and want to serve you with my life. Please forgive me for the times that I have resisted your leading or turned away from your demands. I know you left everything, and gave up everything, to save me. So now, please mold me into the person you want me to be and use me in ways that bless others and bring you glory. Amen.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:50 pm
December 30 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God... — John 1:12 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Isn't it incredible that we are called children of God!? But that is exactly what we are! (cf. 1 John 3:1-3.) We are God's children. Our Father created the universe with its billions and billions of heavenly bodies. Our Father paints a new sunset every day and chases away the darkness every morning. Our Father not only loves us, but he also claims us as his own and will bring us to his eternal home. Why? Because we heard his message in Jesus. Because we received his grace offered in his Son. Incredible! Glorious! Grace! My Prayer...Abba Father, thank you for claiming me as your child through Jesus, in whose name I praise and thank you. Amen.
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:18 pm
Almost the new year In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." — John 3:3 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse..."Fast away the old year passes ..." But we can be new and fresh and clean (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17). Kingdom people are those who have been born fresh and new through the power of the Spirit and the grace of God (cf. John 3:3-7; Titus 3:3-7; John 1:11). So as we close out the old year, with its good things and bad, achievements and failures, successes and disappointments, let's approach the New Year as Kingdom people. God's mercies are new every morning and our lives can be made new every day by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Yes, we have been born again. But each sunrise offers us the opportunity to be made new, to live in a fresh new way, as God's grace rekindles our hopes and the Holy Spirit makes us new as we trust in Jesus our Lord. My Prayer...Heavenly Father, you are holy and righteous. I confess that as hard as I have tried and as much as I have wanted to be holy and righteous, without your grace and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, I fail. Thank you for your forgiveness. Please make me new. As I stand on the threshold of a new year, please empower me beyond my weaknesses and besetting sins. Open my eyes to your work in the world around me and use me in your work of grace. Fire my passion to live fully for your Kingdom and my King, Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 8:12 pm
January 1 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! — 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...We all like "do-overs" or second chances. God does much better than that! He allows us to become new again. Being the "God of new things" he can even make us new. Beyond forgiveness, beyond cleansing, he makes us holy through Jesus. Let's use the opportunity of a New Year as a springboard for living a life fresh and new and alive for God! My Prayer...O LORD, thank you for a New Year and a fresh start. Please give me wisdom and strength to serve you with integrity and faithfulness in this coming year. I pray that your work be done in my life as I offer myself, my plans, and my future to you. I pray this through Jesus my intercessor and Lord. Amen.
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 4:06 pm
January 2 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. — Psalms 90:12 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...So often we look up and time has passed us by. The things we promised ourselves we'd accomplish and the deeds we told others we'd do get left undone. Before we know it, days have become weeks, and weeks months, and months years. We find ourselves unable to do what we once assumed we could do any time we wanted. We must ask the Spirit of God to help us see and seize the opportunities the LORD places in our path. My Prayer...Father, I confess that so often I leave undone what needs to be done. Please help me see your plans in each of my days and live in a way which not only honors you, but also blesses those you want me to reach. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:44 pm
January 3 The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. — Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...In a world which has no absolutes, in a world in search of moral standards, salvation by the costly grace of God beckons us to change our lifestyles in response to God's grace. Anyone who receives grace and refuses to pursue righteousness demonstrates his/her ignorance or hardness of heart. In our day, in our time, as in all times, to be saved means to pursue righteousness -- not so that we may earn our salvation, but so that God's saving grace will not be fruitless in us. My Prayer...Holy Father, I confess that I live in a confusing time. Satan is always distorting the distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, moral and immoral. Because you have been so gracious with me, may my life today and every day reflect the righteousness you gave me through Jesus. "May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer." Through Jesus, my atoning sacrifice I pray. Amen.
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:32 pm
January 4 [God] has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. — Micah 6:8 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...God's desires for us are not hard to discern. He wants to bless us with salvation. The incredible gift of his Son is powerful testimony to this truth. But salvation from sin and death is not something he wants to happen in our lives just once. He wants our lives to daily reflect his salvation and to share it with others. When we act justly, pursue mercy in our relationships, and honor him with our worship from a humble heart, then we are responding to his salvation as he desires. My Prayer...Almighty and compassionate Father, as I embrace this New Year, help my eyes see what your heart sees. Teach me to hate sin and to be merciful to all who need mercy. Teach me to know truth and act fairly, while hating abuse and exploitation. Through your Spirit, stir me to reflect on the great distance between your holy majesty and my inconsistent character. Make me wholly your child, I pray, in Jesus name. Amen.
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:10 am
January 5 Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. — Isaiah 1:16-17 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Do you find it easy to replace service to those in need with religious rituals? I know I do! But God wants us to not get so caught up in talking about him and celebrating his deeds, that we forget we're suppose to care for others like he does. Whether it is Jesus defining his ministry in Luke 4:18-19 or James talking about the kind of piety that pleases God (Jas. 1:26-27), we must realize true faith is treating others as God would. Today's verse defines what God does and instructs us to live in the same way. My Prayer...O Great God of all comfort, open my eyes today to see those who need your love and give me the attentiveness, time, and compassion to serve them. May Jesus' work be seen in my life today. Amen.
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:10 am
January 6 Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. — 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...When Jesus came the first time, he came to reveal God. (John 1:1 cool As wonderful, powerful, and gracious as he was in his earthly ministry, he did not fully reveal all who he is. Our hope is tied to his return. When he comes this time, he won't come to reveal God, but to reveal himself -- the conquering Lord, the Rider on the white horse. Every knee will bow. We will get to see him as he really and fully is -- Immanuel in power and grace, triumphant in every way. When we set our hope on Jesus' grace when he returns, we can be confidently ready for active service to our King today. We can live under his leadership with obedience and praise today. My Prayer...O Almighty God, I long for the day when I get to see Jesus face to face coming with the angels in power. Until that time, fasten my heart in hope to the glory Jesus will share with me on that day, and please empower me to live as one who knows that victory is mine in Jesus. Jesus, through your powerful name I pray. Amen.
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:40 am
January 7 Be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. — Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If we are to sincerely flatter God by being like him, imitation may be the most costly form of flattery as well. You see, love for God is never something that occurs just in our minds or our hearts. Love is something we do for another -- it is action. John said that we must love with more than our talk; we must show our love through our deeds. (1 John 3:1 cool This kind of genuine love means that we give ourselves up -- what we want, our rights, our desires -- to honor God and serve others. This is a kind of love that can change the world, or a marriage, or a family. This is the kind of love that God has given to us! Now let's imitate our Father in the way we love. My Prayer...Father, I will never fully understand how you could love me so much that you would allow your son to die for me, as my sacrifice. Please help me love others sacrificially. I know the power to do this is not within me, so please pour your love into my heart so that I may share that love with others. Through Jesus, my brother and my sacrifice, I pray. Amen.
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:13 am
January 8 Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. — Amos 5:14-15 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...A whole bunch of folks claim that God is on their side. In reality, the important question is whether we are on God's side! That's determined more by what we seek and do rather than what we think and say. God longs to be with us, but he will not sacrifice his character to extend us cheap grace -- a grace that does not call us to be like him and live with Jesus as our Lord. He's looking for believers who put their character where their mouths are and work to bring goodness to their world, culture, and legal systems. My Prayer...Most Holy God, your righteousness and holiness are beyond me. I know that my best efforts are only vain attempts to attain them. Yet I long, dear Father, to be more like you in every way that it is humanly possible. Let me know of your presence with me as I seek after you, your character, and your goodness in my life. Teach me to be revolted by the things you call evil. In the name of Jesus the Righteous One I pray. Amen.
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 6:52 pm
January 9 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. — Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Where do you hide your heart? What we most value is where we will find our heart. So it is an important question. You see, we can treasure riches, control, security, and relationships. Jesus reminds us that it is only by turning loose of the things that most of us keep as our treasures that we find what is truly treasure indeed. My Prayer...Majestic Father, I pray that out of the riches of your grace, you may help me find my treasure in you and nothing else. Today, I want to offer you all that I am and have, so that my life will be lived for your glory. In the name of Jesus, my example and treasure I pray. Amen.
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Miss DaMeanor Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 5:46 pm
January 10 Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." — 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse..."Holy" is one of those words we generally associate with the "stained glass ghetto" -- a word only "church folks" use. That may be true, but it's still a great concept. Every kid knows that you don't eat hot dogs and potato chips on china. Mom's china is reserved for "special company" or "special occasions." Hot dogs are for paper plates and every day, china is for special events. When God is calling us to be holy, he's calling us to be china -- something special just for him, and as Peter emphasizes, just like him. My Prayer...Holy Lord, God Almighty, I come before you knowing how great the distance is between your holiness and my commonness. I thank you for making me holy through the sacrifice of Jesus and by sending your Holy Spirit to live inside of me. Please receive my life today as a holy offering to you. I pray in the name of Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of my faith. Amen.
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