DEVOTION, NEW YEARS DAY, SATURDAY 1-01-11

SATURDAY, JANUARY 1^ST. 2011

“NEW YEAR’S DAY”

“One Day at a Time"

BY  JIM LIEBELT

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. —Matthew 6:34

It has been said that there are two days that people worry most about but should actually worry least about: Yesterday and Tomorrow. We worry about yesterday - the mistakes we've made and what we would like to do over or differently. Yet, there is nothing we can do to change yesterday. Our worries are wasted. We also worry about tomorrow - the problems it may bring and the challenges we may face. Yet, we cannot control tomorrow. It is out of our grasp. So again, our worries are wasted.

When we do not waste our worries on yesterday or tomorrow, it frees us to live in the present - today. Today, we are able to make decisions about our life. Today, we can set our course, set off in a direction or alter our course, if necessary. Sure, we will still make our share of mistakes. And, we will still have worries. Each day brings enough to be concerned about. Still, seldom are life's concerns unbearable today. Our worries become unbearable when we add the wasted worries of yesterday and tomorrow.

Jesus instructs us to live one day at a time. He knew that so much of what we worry about is out of our control. He wanted us to understand that God gives us today. And, as we live our lives seeking Him, we are in a safe place. Jesus promises that our heavenly Father will provide us with everything we need.

When I'm tempted to worry about any of life's concerns, I find that it helps to remind myself of the many times I've given in to worry - and how things never came to pass as I had feared - which is actually the vast majority of the time!

So, today as we wrap up 2010 and head courageously into 2011, make it one of your resolutions to live your days - just one day at a time! And, when you find yourself tempted to worry, remind yourself of Jesus' words, "Your heavenly Father knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." (Matthew 6:32-33, NLT.)

DEVOTION - NEW YEARS EVE - DECEMBER 31, 2010

FRIDAY,  DECEMBER 31^TH, 2010

“NEW YEAR’S EVE”

“THE SEDUCTION OF COVETOUSNESS

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

One of the verses we read in our last devotional was Luke 12:15, which says,

And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

Jesus begins His teaching regarding prosperity in this passage by saying, "Beware of covetousness."  In our society, even in the Church, there are a lot of people whose lives are tied up in "things."  The focus of their life is their stuff, and doing whatever they can to acquire even more things.

It is what the Bible calls covetousness.

I want to ask you today, is your heart filled with covetousness?  Do you find yourself thinking, "I know the missing ingredient in my life, I just need a little more.  If I could just get a little more, I would be happy.  If I could just build a bigger house and fill it with a little more stuff…if I could get a nicer car…if I could upgrade…then I would be happy, and then I would be successful."?

A little more, a little more, a little more.

The problem is, however, that desire for more never stops.  In fact, as we will see in our next devotional, God called a man a fool because he never realized that riches are only temporary.

If you find your life driven by the need for more things, if you are consumed with stuff, if you define your success by what you have (or do not have), then you have been seduced by covetousness, and you will never find the happiness you are looking for.

Do not be a fool seeking after things.  Instead, make the passion of your life seeking after God.

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God

DEVOTION THURSDAY 12-30-2010

THURSDAY,  DECEMBER 30^TH, 2010

“UPHOLDING HUMAN DIGNITY”

BY

CHUCK SWINDOLL

Psalm 139

A few winters ago in Stockholm, Sweden, an eighty-four-year-old woman sat for two months on her balcony before a neighbor discovered she was dead. The woman was found sitting in a chair, dressed in a coat and hat, her forehead leaning against the railing.

A neighbor realized something was wrong when she saw the woman sitting on her balcony around the clock, despite freezing temperatures. "I accused myself for not having seen her earlier," she said later. "I hope this dreadful story makes us better at keeping in touch with our old neighbors."

Isolationism is not a Scandinavian phenomenon; it is a human tragedy. For fear of poking our nose in someone else's business or getting involved in something that could backfire on us, we have trained ourselves not to stop, look, or listen.

But in a fast-paced world where only the fit survive, it sure is easy to feel dehumanized. Our technological age has made us more aware of our insignificance. Our suspicion that we are not loved for who we are is confirmed daily by the impersonal nature of twenty-first-century living. We make a phone call and "voice mail" takes over. If folks are not home, we can talk to an answering machine. If we don't even want to talk, we can e-mail or "text" instead. If we need money at 2:00 A.M., we can drop by the local ATM machine.

Machines write for us, answer phones for us, get money for us, shop for us, think for us, rent cars for us. They can even sign our letters. And the result is scary. A subtle erosion of individuality, followed by a no-touch, don't-bother-me-I'm-too-busy coldness, leading to a total absence of eyeball-to-eyeball interaction, resulting in the ultimate: more loss of human dignity. This is excused because it saves time and keeps us from getting hung up on knotty things like relationships. They say that's healthier?

What's so healthy about becoming completely untouchable?

Machines can't hug you when you're grieving. Machines don't care when you need a sounding board. Machines never affirm you when you are low or confront you when you are wrong. When you need reassurance and hope and strength to go on, you cannot replace the essential presence of another human being.

Christ came to save people. Human beings with names and personalities and fingerprints and faces. Upholding human dignity is worth the effort every time.

There's no substitute for the personal touch.

Reprinted by permission. Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

DEVOTION WED 12-29-2010

WEDNESDAY,  DECEMBER 29^TH,  2010

“NO UNTOUCHABLE PEOPLE TO JESUS”

BY

RAY PRITCHARD

It seems like an absurd question (Luke 8:45). With so many people pressing in upon Jesus, how could anyone know who touched him? With many people wanting to be near Him, it could have been any man or any woman in the crowd. But the Master knew that someone had touched the edge of His garment and at that moment a mighty miracle had occurred. A woman with a serious blood disorder had been instantly cured.

This woman had taken a real chance by touching Jesus. According to the law, her touch could make Jesus unclean. Because He was the Son of God, His power of healing overcame her uncleanness. But she did not know that when she touched Him.

What a crucial point this is. Our Lord Jesus was not ashamed to be touched by the untouchable, and He was not embarrassed to be publicly identified with the outcasts of this world. He was at home with sinners, He ate supper with gluttons and drunkards, He welcomed the prostitutes, He touched the lepers, and He is not ashamed to be touched by an unclean person.

Not ashamed? No, not at all. Delighted, I think, and glad to identify Himself with her. Delighted that she had the courage to reach out and glad that He could heal her. And He didn't care who knew about it. No, that's not strong enough. He wanted the whole crowd to know what He had done.

Why is this so important? Because with our Lord there are no "untouchable" people. In Jesus' eyes, everyone is touchable. Thank God, there are no hopeless cases with Him.

Taken from "Who Touched Me?" by Keep Believing Ministries (used by permission)

DEVOTION, TUESDAY 12-28-2010

TUESDAY,  DECEMBER 28^TH,  2010

“A SIN REVIEW”

BY

JAMES MACDONALD

Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

David remembers all too well the sins of his youth—as well as more recent ones! And yet he comes to God with a bold request: "Remember not the sins of my youth."  Do you know what he's talking about? He's talking here about sins of ignorance, the sins of youthful arrogance. "I didn't know any better." Or, "I thought I knew better!" Does that ring bells for you? Did you do some stupid stuff when you were young? The older I get, the more I realize how little I knew when I knew it all. The sins of my youth—now those are some haunting problems from the past: "I was ignorant. I was foolish. I was immature—Lord, choose not to remember these things."

But notice the second phrase: ". . . or my transgressions." Some translations say "my rebellious ways." It means my willful acts; not just my youthful foolishness, but the times in my life, God, when I knew the right and I chose the wrong. I knew that my attitude was wrong, but I chose that bitterness anyway. I knew that my values were wrong, but I chose to be selfish. I knew that that pleasure was forbidden by You, but I consumed it for myself. As we draw near to God, we have a sense of His holiness.

Sometimes it's not easy to be in the hot seat. If we're going to really connect with the life of trust, the barrier is sin. "Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God," Isaiah 59:2 says. "Your sins have hidden his face from you." One of the reasons why people trust God so little is because trusting God requires dealing with sin. "Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!" "I don't deserve to be riding along here with You. I don't deserve to be in this life of trust and faith, but I acknowledge my sin. And I claim Your mercy."
—James MacDonald