Date: Saturday March 29
Title: Ordinary Belivers used in Extrordinary Ways
Scripture: Judges 6:12

Passage

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."

Thoughts

The name Gideon might cause you to think of "mighty man of valor" and "hero of the faith." But then you might think, "That's not like me." Gideon is seen as a great man, but we often feel like much less. Yes--he's included in the list of heroes in Hebrews 11. Yes--he was a mighty man of valor. But it wasn't always that way. He started out being very timid and fearful. When we first read about Gideon, he's threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites (6:11). He's hiding out. When the angel tells him that he's being sent to save Israel, his answer isn't a "mighty" one. Instead he asks "How can I?"(v. 15). After alot of encouragement from God, Gideon finally lead the fight to drive out the Midianites. God patiently worked with His very reluctant warrior. Here's the deal: God can meet us where we are and lead us to where He wants us to be. Our lack of self-confidence might seem to great. But remember that our God is the same as Gideon's. The One who saw a mighty man of valor in Gideon sees something special in you too. He's equipped you and challenges you to serve Him. Don't think God works only through "super saints." He uses ordinary believers---They're made extraordinary by being available, teachable and useable.

Date: Friday March 28
Title: Get real with God
Scripture: Exodus 20:16

Passage

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Thoughts

Here's a tough and personal question about the kind of life you're living: Do you ever show signs of hypocrisy? It may be a tough and personal question but it's important that we test ourselves in this area every so often. As you know, hypocrisy is living a lie. It's profession without possession. Just like the Pharisees back in Jesus' day. They acted like they were religious, but their hearts were as black as coal! One way to test hypocrisy in your life is to honestly compare how you behave at church on Sunday with how you behave the rest of the week. Are there differences??? Living a lie, or being a hypocrite, is one of the most spiritually dangerous places to be. Jesus told the church at Laodicea in Revelation that He wanted to spit them out of His mouth because they were neither hot nor cold. And that's what being a spiritual hypocrite is. You are spiritually lukewarm... and your words say one thing when your actions say another. Jesus said He wants nothing to do with a person like that! But how great it is when people finally GET REAL with God--when they finally ask God to strip them of their phoniness and live life as a genuine, real, committed believer in Him! God desires genuine authenticity from us. This is why I hope you'll ask God to do a spiritual check on you today. Ask Jesus to show you any areas of hypocrisy in your life. And when He shows you, Repent--ask for forgiveness--True repentence is change... and then determine to stay honest and genuine with God and with your brothers and sisters in Christ from this day forward. ARE YOU AUTHENTIC IN EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE?

Date: Thursday March 27
Title: Commit, Trust and Wait
Scripture: Psalm 37:5-7

Passage

5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Thoughts

"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass" (verse 5). He shall bring what to pass? God will bring to pass the thing that does you the most good and that brings Him the most glory. There must be something in your life you'd like God to do. Something that you've been thinking about, dreaming about and praying about. But if God's going to accomplish things for us and in us and through us, there are certain things we have to do. First, we must commit our way to the Lord. This is a definite act of our will and obedience and faith. We don't commit it to the Lord and then take it back. We make our way His way, and we make His way our way. Second, we must trust God. That means to believe His promises and to know that He is such an awesome God that He can always be trusted. We trust people because of their good character. God's character is perfect. Third, we must wait on the Lord. When will He answer?? When He's ready to. His timing is perfect. That's why David adds, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (verse 7). Just rest in the Lord. Wait for Him. He's working in you and on you while He's working for you. Commit, trust and wait, and He will bring it to pass. What would you like to see God do in your life? Start by making sure that your will is inline with His will. Commit your way to Him, trust Him and wait on Him. God is working for you. In His time He will accomplish His work. Be sure He gets the glory.

Date: Wednesday March 26
Title: The Truth Will Set You Free
Scripture: John 8:31-32

Passage

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Thoughts

Is there something in your life that you'd like to be set free from? As a child of God, Jesus wants you to be free from that struggle or sin. And one way you can do this is by claiming your freedom and acting on it. The Scripture says, "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." When you die to your sin... when you realize you're no longer a helpless victim constantly under the control of evil... you'll have victory in the Lord! You do this by beginning to understand that obedience to anything leads to slavery. Romans 6:16 says, "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" Whatever you obey, you serve. If you're obedient to sin, then you'll become a slave to sin. But if you obey righteousness, then you'll serve righteousness. Are you desperate enough to break free from sin that you'll surrender your life to serve Jesus? I want to encourage you to make that decision to no longer serve sin. Plant the seeds of righteousness in your life and water them daily through prayer and studying God's Word. You can break free from the old life and live victoriously in the new life through complete obedience to Jesus Christ! Will you yield your life to Jesus so you can break free from sin?

Date: Tuesday March 25
Title: Brokeness Mended through Jesus
Scripture: John 10:10

Passage

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Thoughts

Genesis 2:7 says that God created man from dust and breathed life into his body. The amazing thing about His creation of man is that He made the universe by speaking it into existence, but with man He took the dust of the earth and formed us in His own hands! In the beginning, Adam & Eve were ideal--physically, psychologically, and spiritually. But God warned them of the death, or separation from Him, that they would experience if they ate from the tree of forbidden fruit. So when they violated God's command and ate of the fruit, they died and passed on this death to all humanity. They died in spirit, and now we're all born spiritually dead. But God... out of His great love... also created in man a way to choose to turn away from sin and death to follow Him. This means that broken lives can be mended, healed, and restored back to wholeness through the acceptance of Jesus Christ and true repentance. Today's "Scripture for the day" tell us that Christ came to this earth, lived a sinless existence, died on the cross for our sins and rose again so that we could have eternal life--an abundantly victorious life in paradise. My prayer for you is to experience true life as a new creation in Jesus! Many Blessings to you!

Date: Monday 3/24
Title: Honoring your parents
Scripture: Exodus 20:12

Passage

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you."

Thoughts

When it comes to being a parent, there are no perfect moms or dads. Period! Only with God's help are you able to raise children that honor God. That means the best thing you could ever do for your child is to lead them to know and love Jesus Christ. And if they know and love Him, they will honor and respect you! Now, as a son or daughter, you can honor your parents by respecting them... willingly, lovingly, and with an attitude of genuine esteem. This is God's plan for every person, regardless of age. As you get older in life, you begin to realize that your parents have some genuine faults as all people do. But you will honor them if you give them the respect they are due. No matter their age, your parents are to be taken care of by you. The Scripture says in 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Begin today to follow the commandment of honoring and respecting your parents... and teaching your children to do the same! ARE YOU HONORING YOUR PARENTS BY GIVING THEM THE RESPECT THEY ARE DUE?

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Passage

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Thoughts

Date: Sunday March 23
Title: The Empty Tomb
Scripture: Matthew 28:5-6

Passage

Then The angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.."

Thoughts

Can you imagine the rush that must have come over them as they heard these words? The Tomb is empty! He's Risen! He's alive for eternity, sitting at the right hand of the father...and someday soon He's coming back for his Church!! Celebrate! Rejoice! How Blessed we are!

Date: Saturday March 22
Title: The View From The Cross
Scripture: Matthew 27:33-43

Passage

And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Thoughts

What did Jesus see as He hung there between heaven and earth? There among the crowd of people I think He saw His accusers and His abusers-He saw the faithful and the fearful-He saw the hopeful and the hopeless---He saw you and me.