DAY 1 – May 18, 2009
TITLE: “GOD’S MERCY”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” II Corinthians 4:1
A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
"But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. "Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." "Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son.
God is a God of mercy. Over and over in the Bible, the Lord, our God, is described as a God of mercy. The Old Testament’s main word for “mercy,” denotes a combination of righteousness and love. Webster defines mercy as, “a compassion or forbearance shown to an offender or subject.” It is a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. There is nothing I can do to deserve God’s great mercy. The Psalmist was aware of God’s great mercy. He wrote, “Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.” Psalm 25:6. Only God is truly merciful.
Mercy is not required of yet; God reaches out to us just as we are with His saving mercy. God is ready to give people mercy. Mercy is compassion in action. We deserve death, but through His mercy, God offers us mercy. God extends His mercy to us through Christ and when we accept it the result is pardon. The Apostle Paul said it this way, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:4-5
If you have received God’s salvation, it is all because of God’s wonderful mercy. If you have a ministry today, it is all because of God’s wonderful mercy. All that we have is a gift of God’s wonderful mercy. Will you thank God for His mercy to you today? Will you tell others of God’s mercy today?
“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,I will sing, I will sing.I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.” John Sellers
DAY 2 – May 19, 2009
TITLE: “THE WORD OF GOD”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Rather, we
have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we
distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we
commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
II Corinthians 4:2
A former park ranger at
Any time we turn off the messages God has sent us by not reading the Word or applying it to our daily lives, we put at peril not only ourselves, but also those around us. It is so important that we never turn off God's saving and guiding communication. God communicates His truth and direction for us through His word. The Psalmist said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105
The word of God is powerful. Hebrew 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to diving soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” To experience the power of the word of God it must be received in full force. In others words, it is not to be diluted, distorted, or watered down. Pastor of yesterday, C.H. Spurgeon said, “I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation; a faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best. It is little better than a dry-land faith, and is not good for much.”
Paul refused to distort or misuse the word of God or use it for his own personal gain or purpose. He followed his own advice to Timothy to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workmen who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15
God has placed into our hands a powerful tool. Prayerfully ask God to help you study it and to use it as God intended it to be used.
“The B I B L E,
Yes that’s the book
for me.
I stand alone on the
Word of God
The B I BL E.” Children’s song
DAY 3 – May 20, 2009
TITLE: “WE HAVE RENOUNCED SECRET AND SHAMEFUL WAYS”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Rather, we
have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we
distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we
commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
II Corinthians 4:2
To renounce secret and shameful ways is to reject, refuse, deny, disclaim, drop, relinquish, desert, quit, discard, or forsake. Webster dictionary defines renounce as, “To give up, abandon, or resign.” To renounce something is to take a stand. Paul said, he had taken a stand against secret and shameful ways. There is no glimmer of compromise here.
Through the years, there have many times when traveling, that I would have liked to take something with me. But it did not fit in my luggage, so I had to leave it behind. There are things that just do not fit into the daily luggage of the Christian and are not to be part of their Christian Journey. In the eighth chapter of the gospel of John, there is a story of a sinful woman caught in the act of adultery that was brought before Jesus. The men who brought her to Jesus said that the Law of Moses commanded them to stone her. They had brought the question before Jesus, of what they should do, hoping to trap Him and have a basis to accuse Him. After writing on the ground Jesus said, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7. One by one they left. Jesus than asked her, “Woman where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:10-11. This last statement is full of instruction for her and for us today. It is a reminder that sin is to be left behind.
Paul had renounced the secret and shameful ways of his life before his life-transforming encounter with Jesus Christ. Paul focuses on this principle of renounced secret and shameful way in his letter to the Ephesians. He writes, “You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught with regard to your former ways of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:20-24. He goes on in the letter to point out specific things to be put off or renounced. In the next chapter, he sums it up with some powerful words. He writes, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8-10
Is there anything in your luggage today that is weighing you down and not appropriate for your journey with Jesus? Ask God to reveal it to you today through His powerful Spirit and give you the power to renounce it and leave it behind.
DAY 4 – May 21, 2009
TITLE: “THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
II Corinthians 4:4
Have you ever been blinded by the sun, or a reflection, while you were driving and found it difficult to see? Perhaps you have had a time when you could not see something because something or someone was in your way. Paul makes it clear that the god of this age seeks to blind unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel.
When my wife, Sharon and I, were first married, she had a mask that she wore at night so the light did not bother her in the morning. She intentionally did not want the light to awake her or bother her. The enemy of our souls wants to do everything he can to keep us comfortable in the darkness and block us from seeing the light of the gospel.
Jesus says this about the darkness and light. He said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3:19-21
Jesus is the light of the world that comes into the darkness to give us His light. Jesus said, “…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12. As Jesus removed the scales of the blind man, He can remove the scales that block us from seeing the light of the gospel.
In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist, Oliver Sacks, tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing. Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man. Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."
To truly see Jesus and His truth means more than observing what He did or said, it means a change of identity. Jesus came to give the light of the gospel so we could be transformed and experience the life God has for us. The enemy will do everything to blind people to the light of the gospel, because an encounter with the light of the gospel is life-transforming. Have you been transformed by the light of the gospel?
DAY 5 – May 22, 2009
TITLE: “WHAT WILL YOU PREACH TODAY”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” II Corinthians 4:5
In one sense we are all preachers. Webster says that to preach is to proclaim tidings. It is to exhort or to delver (a sermon). Your audience may not be in a church auditorium, but every one of us has an audience. It may be on the other end of a cell phone or email, but we all have an audience of some type. Perhaps it will be at school, home or at the office, but we all have an audience that we can influence with our message.
What is the message you will proclaim today and how will you proclaim it? Will you preach about politics or religion today as you proclaim the things on your heart? Perhaps your conversations will include subjects ranging from cooking to health or activities to the use of time. Regardless, in one sense, we will all give some sermons today. They may be short or long, weak or strong, helpful or painful, but in the words we speak we will all do some preaching today.
What is the message you will proclaim today and how will you proclaim it? You can preach with gentleness, love, respect, grace, and kindness today, or you can preach with anger and frustration. You can give messages that can lift others up today or messages that can discourage and tear others down. You can proclaim messages about a variety of subjects to people today. It is helpful to remember that today you can preach messages about you and others or you can preach messages about Jesus Christ as Lord.
The Apostle Paul saw himself as Christ's herald. In II
Timothy 1:11, He says, “And of this
gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.” A herald is
a person who makes public announcements on another's behalf. Paul was committed
to preaching Jesus Christ as Lord. His focus was not on the messenger or method,
but on the message. Paul wrote to the
What is the message you will proclaim today and how will you proclaim it? I
pray that each of us can say with Paul, “We
do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.”