GOOD NEWS

Romans 1:16-17 (NLT) For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes–the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."

What Good News God our Father has given us, that through the cross of Jesus Christ, all those that have accepted this amazing gift are made right with Him!  When I think of the fact that at one time I was totally separated from God with no hope, and without any chance of getting to Him, I am amazed!

Now, by what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary, I am forgiven, restored, and set in His family.  I like the way the second part of this verse states this: "This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.”  I now have to accept what Christ has done, not by how I feel about it, but by what His Word states as truth.  God's Word, the Bible, is a legal document, and if He says that He has set me right, then I am set right.

What freedom this gives me, to know that because of what Jesus did on the cross, I am in right standing with God!  Too many believe this will happen when we get to heaven, and thank God we will have it in heaven.  But these verses say the Good News is that we have it now, in full!

I will not be any more righteous than I am the moment that I ask Jesus to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior.  He, at that moment, made me the righteousness of God in Himself.  Let me tell you, that is Good News!

So today, no matter what your mind tries to tell you, say, “I am justified in God's sight, not because of what I have done, but because of all that my beloved Jesus has done for me.”  This is truly Good News!

Confession:  I declare, today, that I have been made right with God through the Good News of the Gospel.  I have been set in this great position, not by my accomplishments, but through what Jesus has done on the cross!

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LET’S GROW UP

1 Peter 2:2-3 (NKJV) …as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Each of us, when we come into the kingdom of heaven, is what the Bible calls: "born again."  So, just as a baby is born into this world and has to grow up, we, when we are born again, have to grow up.

This verse makes it pretty clear how we are to grow up in God: We need to desire the milk of God's Word, get hungry for the Word of God, make it our delight, mediate on it, chew on it, drink deeply of it, and as we do these things, we will see that we will grow.  I have watched in my own life that as I stay hungry for the Word, and the things of God, I grow!

I believe, just like in the natural, that we have to grow from a baby, to a toddler, to a child, to a teenager, and then to an adult.  That is also how we grow up as Christians.  We do not become a mature Christian overnight; it happens in steps.  Too many times, people try to rush this, and they become freaks.

So take it one day at a time.  I like how it says it in Isaiah 28:10: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”  Grow a little today.  Read a little, listen to a teaching, get faithful in your church, and you will see, after a while, a good solid growth.

Do not get discouraged and say, “It seems like I am not growing.”  It might have taken you a while to learn how to tie your shoes, but once you did, no one had to teach you that again.  So go ahead and enjoy the ride of growth.  You only get to do this once!

Confession:  I am growing today, as I read this devotional and eat of His Word.  God's Word in me is like milk and meat, and I am enjoying this meal every day.  God's Word is good!

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STOP THE FLOW

Proverbs 17:14 (AMPC) The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles [from a crack in a dam]; therefore stop contention before it becomes worse and quarreling breaks out.

Oh, how true this is!  We all know it.  When we say, “Man, I wish that never came out of my mouth,” but it is too late.  We just had to give him or her a piece of our mind.  We let it flow, and then it was like a crack in a dam, and we cannot get it back.

This verse is talking about more than just what we say, but it does seem like what we say causes a lot of issues.  James says it like this in James 3:6: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”

We let things out of our mouths that cause explosions, and then we say, “What caused that?”  Well, here it says that it is our tongue.  Let us watch what comes out of our mouths.  Let us be people that close cracks, and not ones that make the cracks bigger.  Jesus said that it is the peacemakers that are blessed; the ones that will walk the extra mile, or turn the other cheek.  That is the kind of person I want to be.  How about you?

Another good scripture for watching what comes out of our mouth is in Proverbs 21:23.  The Complete Jewish Bible says it like this: "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble."

Let us make a decision today to slow down the flow of strife, and let peace rule our lives and our mouths.  Let us strive to be ones that bring peace and love to situations.  It is all up to us.  What we will do with it is in our hand, or should I say, our mouth.  Today is a new day!  Let us make it a good day!

Confession:  I am making a decision, today, to walk in love, to stop the strife, and to let peace rule in my heart.  I am going to share that goodness with others.  Today, I choose to be the peacemaker and the peace-giver.

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GOD’S EYES

2 Chronicles 16:9a (NKJV) “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

God has eyes?  Well, according to this verse, He does.  What does He do with them?   He looks.  What does He look for?  Is He looking for me to make a mistake?  No, He looks for those who love Him, and whose heart is towards Him.  He looks for those He can pour out His blessings on.

Our Heavenly Father is a good God Who loves us and wants to bless us.  However, He can only do this when our hearts are right.  If our hearts are full of pride, fear, and hurt, it is hard for God to pour out His blessings.  Someone who is keeping his heart right before Him, or as this verse says, “…whose heart is loyal to Him,” He can bless abundantly. 

That is the kind of heart I want and I endeavor to have.  How about you?  Make the decision today to have a pure heart, because Jesus said in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Do you want God to see you, and do you want to see God?  Then keep a right heart.  When you mess up, ‘fess up!  Do not let it sit there for days, and weeks, and months.  Make a decision to keep your life pure before your Father who loves you and is looking out for you.  Never let pride, or hurts, hold you back.  Look deep within today.  Talk to God, and let Him know when it hurts or when it is difficult.  He knows, yet Jesus said to ask Him and talk to Him.  So no matter what is going on today, or what someone has done to you today, LET IT GO AND LET GOD!

Confession: Today I look within.  I look at my heart, and I am going to be truthful.  I am not going to cover it up and say, “Well, that is just me.”  No, I want a heart that God, my Father, can bless.  So today, I start a new a day, in a new way!

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THERE ARE MORE ON OUR SIDE

2 Kings 6:17 (NKJV) And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Oh, if we could ever get our eyes open to the army that God has all around us!  It is an army of mighty angels.  It is an army of powerful beings that could take care of any situation that comes against us.

In Hebrews 1:14 it says this about angels: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”  Who are those who will inherit salvation?  That is us!  We are the ones that are born again, new creations in Christ, and God has sent His angels to help us in life.

As children, we used to call them our guardian angel, and we thought of them as little cotton puffs that floated around.  But now we see from the Word of God that these heavenly beings are mighty and powerful, and they are sent to help us and to protect us.  As we call on the Name of Jesus, our angels watch out for us.

Angels obey God and His Word, so as we read the Word, speak the Word, and do the Word, we will see angels assist us.  So look to God today, and remember that right now, right where you are, there is an angel that God has assigned to watch over you and help you in your life.  Like Elisha with his servant, remember that there are more with you than with them!

Confession: Today, I believe that there are angels helping and assisting me in my journey called life.  God, my Heavenly Father, has placed this mighty warrior to protect me from every demon that would try to come against me.  God is good!

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WE HAVE NOT BECAUSE WE ASK NOT

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (NKJV) 9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain." 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!"  So God granted him what he requested.

I love this story about Jabez.  Here is a man whose mother gave him a bad name, but he would not accept it.  He did what we all need to do when life throws us a curve ball: he called on God. 

Each of us has stuff from our past, yet, even with all that stuff, we can let life make us bitter, or make us better.  It is really our call how we want to live.  Do we want to be blessed?  Then call on the Name of the Lord.  Do we want to stay in bitterness?  Then do not do anything.

The old saying is so true, “When life throws you a lemon, make lemonade.”  I can receive bad from the past and things that have happened to me, or I can say that I am a new creation in Christ, old things are passed away, behold all things have become new!

Our God is the God of second chances, and twenty-fifth chances.  His mercies are new each morning.  Do not let your past hold you down.  Lift yourself up and do as Jabez did.  Talk to your Heavenly Father and tell Him that you want a new start, and that, by the blood of Jesus, you believe that you have it now.  This is faith, and faith is what pleases God!

Confession: My God is the God of second chances.  Today, I believe that I have a new start.  I believe that the old things are truly passed away.  I confess today, that God has great things in store for my life!

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LOOK TO JESUS

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

There is a song we used to sing, and it went like this: “Look to Jesus and believe, look to Jesus and receive.”  That is the truth!  When we look to Jesus believing, He seems to get everything put together for us.  I want my life to be a reflection of Him.  The way that I see a reflection is by looking into a mirror.

This verse is saying to us to look to Jesus.  He is the One that began this work in us, and He is the One that will bring it to completion. The NASB says it like this, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.”  I like that!  What I have to do is fix my eyes on Him, and He will do the rest.  He started this work in my life many years ago.  For some of you, it could be many years, or just a few days, but it does not matter.  What matters is that He is going to do a perfect work within us.

I always say it like this: “It is all about Jesus!”  When I get me out of the way, and let Him be Lord and King of my life, everything just seems to work out.  When I try to make me king in my life, things just seem to go downhill.  You know, He made us, and He can sure finish this up in us.

So today, be encouraged.  He has got your life in the palm of His big hand, and He will not let you down.  He started it, and He will complete it.  That is great!

Confession:  Today I am encouraged, because I see that what God has started in my life, He will bring to completion.  This is not about me.  It is about Christ in me, and He cannot fail!

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