Month: May 2012

PDL 16 – What Matters Most

“Let love be your highest goal!”
1 Corinthians 14.1 NLT

“Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.” Galatians 6:10 NLT

Day 16 of 40: Loving one another is our primary responsibility in the family of God… and it isn’t easy.

For me, it’s challenge enough to love the people that I like. We all have our quirks and peculiarities that require some kindness and accommodation. And with people I like, it’s worth the effort… and, truthfully, it’s not that hard because I want to make the relationship work.

But with the ones I don’t like – the people I try to avoid when I see them headed my way – that’s another story. Continue reading “PDL 16 – What Matters Most” →

Morning Reading: Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

PDL 15 – Formed for God’s Family

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5 NLT

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.” 1 Peter 1.3-5 NLT

“Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT

Day 15 of 40: God has given me a family with a history and a heritage. As an adopted child who never knew his birth parents and therefore had no family history or heritage… this has been a big deal for me.

Prior to being “born again” I had taken as my own the history and heritage of my adopted family… that’s what they wanted and it worked okay for me – to a point. I always knew it was make-believe… so I never really felt connected in any kind of organic way… but it was all I had – a kind of emotional “go-along-to-get-along.”

But the surrender of my life to Christ changed all that. Continue reading “PDL 15 – Formed for God’s Family” →

Morning Reading: 1 Peter 2:5 NLT

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. 1 Peter 2:5 NLT

A Living Prayer – Alison Kraus

In this world I walk alone
With no place to call my home,
But there’s one who holds my hand
Through rugged roads, through barren lands.
The way is dark, the road is steep,
But He’s become my eyes to see,
The strength to climb, my griefs to bear.
The Savior lives inside me there.

Chorus:
In Your love I find relief,
A haven from my unbelief.
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer, my God, to Thee. Continue reading “Morning Reading: 1 Peter 2:5 NLT” →