Are you discouraged or downhearted? Allow God to lift you with His love.
“May you receive more and more of God’s mercy, peace, and love.”
Jude 1:2 (NLT)
Because of God’s mercies you can follow Him with all of your heart today, assured that there is nothing being held over your head to condemn you; you can take each step today with a quiet heart knowing that His peace keeps you steady and sure; you can move ahead today with great confidence of faith knowing His love keeps you close to His heart, mindful of His promises, and confident of His care. God’s mercies declare that you are covered in His compassion; His peace proclaims that you are renewed in His rest; His love heralds that you are bathed in His blessings of joy.
Are you tired or weary today? Allow God to renew you with His strength. Are you discouraged or downhearted? Allow God to lift you with His love. Are you carrying a burden of sin? Allow God’s mercies to restore you. Are you in need of reassurance? Allow God to hold you in His embrace. Are you in need of healing? Allow God to mend you with His touch.
By Roy Lessin
Used by Permission
If you don’t know Jesus in a personal way you can begin a relationship with him today. The first step is a prayer telling him you believe He is who He says He is and a second step is surrendering control of your will and life to him. These can be communicated in a simple prayer (prayer is talking to God):
“Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”
If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, then you can pray this prayer right now and Christ will come into your life, as He promise.
How do we move on when our spirits have been wounded, or our families disrupted?
“…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)
Theater critic, Brooks Atkinson, once said, “Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect.” Drop, let go, forget – that’s easier said than done. People, events, and circumstances of this past year—perhaps past years—continue to nag at us. Disappointments, betrayals, and losses creep into our minds to disturb the peace that God promises.
How do we move on when our spirits have been wounded, or our families disrupted?
Several words used by the apostle Paul give us clues about the process so necessary for forward movement. First there is the word “focus,” meaning to concentrate on. Instead of allowing our thoughts to meander into the morass of the past, we choose to deliberately think of the future. This in no way means denial, but rather a purposeful action involving looking ahead to what God may have in store.
What about “forget”? This word has within it the idea of neglect, e.g., giving less weight to what has happened in the past, refusing to dwell on those things that disturb our peace and threaten the future God has planned for us.
And then there is “press on.” Here I imagine a runner, surrounded by competitors, just about to cross the finish line. The race has been long, the runner is almost exhausted and she finally sees the ribbon extended across her path. Determined to win the race and knowing that any part of her body must cross that ribbon in order for victory to be declared, she stretches out her arms—she presses on.
This is not a once-a-year process, but rather a daily examination of the hours just past and the glorious future of the day ahead. The heavenly prize is definitely within reach. Let go. Press on.
Question: How has God helped you move beyond hurt and into forgiveness and freedom?
