Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

To do justice is to hold yourself responsible, meditating on what’s right and wrong, always being ready to stand up for the truth. To love kindness is to love others, going out of your way to make their lives better, and treating them the way you’d wish to be treated. To walk humbly with your God is to recognize how small and broken you are, and yet how loved and blessed you are, and how far Jesus went to pay your debt. You are finite, and you won’t be able to become a Christlike person all on your own. That’s why God sent a part of Himself, the Holy Spirit, to dwell inside you, so that by believing and having faith you may learn to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God more and more each day.

Monday, August 14, 2023

Monday, August 14, 2023
Matthew 6:25
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Your lifetime is but a vapor, the Word says; a mist that passes quickly and is gone. Your earthly joy and sadness, wealth and poverty, satisfaction, and hunger… it’ll all be so forgettable compared to God’s kingdom. Aren’t there better things to be worried about than the things of earth? Instead of stressing about how to earn wealth here, shouldn’t you put effort into your treasure in Heaven? Instead of worrying about your outward appearance that people see, shouldn’t you pay attention to your inward heart that the Lord sees? These words that Jesus spoke weren’t an encouragement to be unwise and irresponsible with your life, but a wake-up call to recognize that there is more to live for than the world around you.

Friday, August 11, 2023

Friday, August 11, 2023
1 John 2:17
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

The life you build and the legacy you leave behind will inevitably fade with time and become only a memory. This world isn’t meant to last, but the paradise God is preparing for us in Heaven will go on forever. The most meaningful thing you can do in this life is put it in Christ’s hands, and let Him turn you into the person you were meant to be. Even though you’re temporary, God still put you here, which means you have a part to play in His story. Be attentive to His will and follow His commands, and you will be richly rewarded in the life to come, with treasures that time cannot erode.

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Thursday, August 10, 2023
Philippians 4:12
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

What Paul learned during the hard chapters of his life was how to be content, no matter the circumstances. Instead of basing his emotions on life’s ups and downs, he chose to ignore circumstance, and look at the big picture. He was no longer Saul of Tarsus, but Paul, a servant of Christ who every day gave Him strength. If he was beat up, imprisoned, shipwrecked, or stoned, it was all because of his dedication to Christ, and to the mission God had called Him to. No matter the abundance or the suffering, it was all insignificant compared to the love and peace that came from his relationship with Jesus… a relationship that He offers to you, too.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Acts 20:35
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

When asked what the greatest commandments were, Jesus gave two simple answers: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments are summed up in these two, and the first one pours into the second. If you love the Lord, you’ll care about the people He cares about, and love those whom only Christ could love. Part of loving is giving. Give to others, whether that means giving your time, giving your attention, or giving the material things God has given you. It all belongs to Him, and if you want to love others as much as yourself, show them the same generosity that you would like to be shown.

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Tuesday, August 8, 2023
1 Timothy 6:17
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

Jesus said that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. What He meant wasn’t that material wealth prohibits you from getting into Heaven. Rather, that wealth can corrupt, and that the wealthy of Jesus’ day considered their money more important than their faith. Compared to most, you and I are rich. Be sure that, despite what you have or don’t have, that the closest thing to your heart is Jesus. For what would it profit a person to gain the whole world, but lose their soul?